I, Erasmus
by EmbersOfLife
Summary: When Leonardo is kidnapped by the Shredder at only 2 years old, he is raised as a Foot ninja along side his sister Karai. Splinter had chosen to forget about his eldest son and keep his remaining three sons from ever knowing there was a fourth. But when destiny reveals itself, there is no stopping these separated brothers from growing suspicious as they cross paths again and again.
1. Chapter 1

**So this will be another longer story and will probably take me a few weeks to complete. Chapters will be about 2,500 words long so I will most likely be uploading every **_**other**_** day. Almost all of my TMNT stories will always take place in the 2003 universe but just in case, I'll let you know. I'm actually pretty excited for this story and it took me **_**forever**_** to come up with the idea and the plot so I hope it goes well! Enjoy**

**Oh and just in case you didn't know, I use this symbol :: to represent a jump in perspective or time.**

: Chapter 1: **(Splinter's POV)**

The story of how I came to be is one most humans wish to never hear. The story of how my four sons came to be is even harder to tell. After the death of my protective owner and Sensei, Hamato Yoshi, I found myself alone beneath the crowded streets of New York City. For years I scavenged what I could and tried my best to stay alive while training myself in the Master's ways of Bushido. But one night, when I was out looking for food to bring back to my den, something happened that would change my life forever.

Four baby turtles fell through the grate and along with them fell a canister of glowing ooze that shattered on the concrete ground. The youngsters were instantly drenched in its sticky grasp and I tried my best to free them. Sadly, I too found myself covered with the mysterious liquid but at that time, I thought nothing of it.

I brought the boys back to my den and decided I would take care of them until they were old enough to go out on their own. Little did I know, the green ooze was a rare type of mutagen, brought to us from space, and it had powers that not even my Master Yoshi could have imagined. The next morning the baby turtles and I had nearly doubled in size and I could feel myself becoming intellectually intelligent by the hour. Within the first week of the accident, all five of us were walking on two legs.

I decided to adopt the baby turtles and raise them as my own. I found a safe place for us to live and a decent junkyard above ground provided enough materials for me to begin training them in the art of Bushido. After the first year, I decided to give them all names according to famous Renaissance artists. Raphael, he was certainly the trouble maker of the bunch. Always causing mischief and getting on all of our nerves. Michelangelo, I call him the free spirit, though there is much work to be done with his motivational skills. Donatello, in only one year he had already figured out how to take apart the television and put it together again. And then there was Leonardo, a born leader, and a tragic story is burdened behind him.

Another year past and the boys were finally figuring out that they had the ability to speak. At first they used small words, then small sentences until they were putting together complete phrases and holding normal conversations, toddler conversations.

One night, I decided to take them out of our cramped lair and into the sewer tunnels for some exercises. Little did I know, an old foe of mine had been watching my every move for the last few years and managed to somehow find our location. We intersected at the tunnels where he had an entire army of foot ninja waiting for us. My sons, having very little training, could not help me fight off the intruders and I failed alone. He said he was not here to kill us, but to collect a trophy. While I was being pinned down by numerous amounts of ninja, he walked up to my terrified sons and grabbed ahold of Leonardo. My poor son, he had no idea what was going on, and didn't resist. I still remembered the terrified look on his face as the Shredder walked off with him and there was nothing my then battered body could do to save him.

I searched and searched for hours trying to find them after Shredder and his foot fled the sewers. Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks but there was still no sign of my eldest son. I had no idea if the Shredder had tortured him or worse, killed him in order to get revenge on me and my Master Yoshi who was already terminated by his hand.

Eventually, I had to come to a final decision in order to save the minds of my remaining sons. I decided to quit searching and focus on training the other three. Within one year, it seemed like they had completely forgotten about him and never asked where he was or who he was. I had nothing to remember my son by, so I kept a blue bandana in a small box in my room. That garment would have been his color if he hadn't been taken from us so soon.

I moved the family to a new location, not for my son's sake but for mine. I could not handle the memories and could not risk breaking down in front of the others or they would have grown suspicious of my obscure behavior.

15 years past very slowly and Leonardo was nothing but a distant memory in my mind and a complete stranger to my sons. Sometimes I would catch myself wondering about him and his whereabouts but I refused to believe he was killed because I could still feel his spirit, drifting over top of mine.

I had always intended on Leonardo leading the group of brothers because he was the most obedient child even at only two years old. So a few years later I decided that Donatello would lead the team when the time was right. At first he didn't accept the position like I expected him too. He said he was much too focused on his work to lead his brothers but I insisted on him doing so. He was nothing amazing at first, but eventually his brother's started to listen and he became more and more like a leader instead of a scientist.

**:: (Don's POV)**

"I swear Mikey yah better knock it off!" Raph slapped his baby brother's hand away as he tried to poke his nose.

"Ooh someone's grouchy." He giggled.

"That's it!" Raph jumped up and started to chase the orange clad turtle around and around the living room.

"Guys really?" I pulled my safety goggles off my eyes and gave the both of them my best death stare. "I'm trying to work here."

"Mikey started it." Raph folded his arms, his long red bandana strings getting tangled up in his pose.

"Come on Raph, Mikey's just bored. Why don't you two go topside or something?" I suggested. Oh how I wanted them out of the lair.

"Aint happenin." Raph plopped back down on the couch and grabbed the remote to our small television set. The next time Mikey disturbed him, he flipped the little turtle over his shoulder and dropped kicked him onto the floor. Mike didn't disturb Raph for the rest of the night.

Once I began to get a breakthrough in my research a few hours later, Raphael decided to pay me a little visit at my lab table.

"What now?" I sighed and leaned my head against my wrist.

"Yah know…we could wait till Mikey goes to bed and then go topside ourselves." He grinned and sat down on my table, making the beakers of liquid shake.

"How about, you go by yourself and I stay here and finish my work?"

"Just cuz yah leader doesn't mean yah gotta be so uptight." He frowned and rolled his eyes. That was the stupid guilt trip face he always sent me on whenever I said no to him. What was funny was, I didn't look at myself as any higher up than him. I know for sure I wasn't born to lead this team and it always baffled me whenever I thought about it. Raph was the hothead and the muscle of the team, so he definitely wasn't supposed to lead he was meant to follow. Mike was a bit on the young and wild side so he's out of the question. Up to a few years ago I was the main brain here but then all of a sudden my Master asked me to be something else! I mean what a wakeup call! I hate being the leader and I mostly let my brothers do whatever they want, but I don't tell Master Splinter because I long to please him.

"I'm not leader." I made sure our Sensei wasn't around before I said that.

"Donnie, I know how yah feel. But you're pretty good at it yah know?"

"Really?" I smiled and looked up at him.

"No." He smirked and walked away into the living room. Some brothers I have. "If yah change yah mind yah know where to find me."

"Where? The couch?" I smirked.

"I'll be in the dojo Donnie boy."

"Good to know but I'm not changing my mind."

"Not even to go say hi to April O'Neil?" He slowly strolled back over to me and placed both his hands on the table.

"Not even to say hi to April O'Neil." I interlocked my three fingered hands and tried not to look to desperate. April was a friend of the family; we met her not to long ago when she was almost eaten alive by a bunch of attack mousers (long story). So now Raph and Mikey think I have some huge crush on her just because we talk a lot. It's true…but you think I'm actually ganna tell them that?

"I heard she's goin to the grand opening of the new museum on the lower east side. It's supposed to be a formal." He awkwardly swayed to the side with this hungry look on his face.

"I'm not going to some dumb grand opening just to see April in a dress." I lied.

"Yah sure? I'm goin no matter what and if things get heated up I aint makin any promises." If he didn't wipe that smirk off his face I was about to do it for him and I'm not even a violent person!

"You know what!" I stood up out of my chair and pointed my finger in his face. "I don't like you. I'll go, but only to keep you out of trouble mister."

"Atta boy Donnie!" he slapped the back of my head and stood up straight. "Oh and…it's tonight…so yah better pick out summthin to wear. I asked Casey to bring over some of his old stuff so maybe yah could try on some of that."

"Use Casey Jones' clothing? Yuck." I stuck my tongue out in disgust. Casey was mainly Raphael's friend but my primary competition over April O'Neil. I'll be 100% honest with you, I don't like him one bit but only because he's trying to win April's heart.

"Well if yah wanna impress the girl I suggest you suck it up and do it."

"I don't need to impress anybody!"

"Sure yah don't brainiac."

**:: (Third Person POV)**

"Perfect. The plan is all ready to be executed. Those fools won't even see us coming!" A tall man in a silver, platted metal suit raised both his fists into the air and laughed devilishly. He swung his arms around, nearly chopping off the heads of his assistants with the sharp blades that were at the end of his wrists. He wore a samurai helmet with a special mask over his mouth to conceal his identity but most of his enemies knew him as the Shredder.

"Summon to me Karai and Erasmus!" He commanded his foot ninja's, highly trained warriors he recruited violently by force. Several of them were even killed taking his initiation test but he only wanted the best to fight for him and he refused to tolerate embarrassments. Anyone who failed the test was eliminated on the spot.

He sat down in his seat that looked out across his dojo. Two huge pits of fire stood on either side of him, making him look even more terrifying and horrific. Down the middle of the room was a long red carpet that only people of interest were allowed to walk on and the rest had to stand on the sides and wait. The two doors at the far end of the room opened and two figures walked down the carpet. Once they reached the throne, they bowed to the Shredder and waited for instruction.

"Karai, Erasmus, I hope everything I told you to prepare has been done like I commanded." He stood up and approached the figures.

"Yes my lord, all has been set. We are ready for the heist." The girl on the left who was called Karai, bowed once again to her Master. She had short cropped hair and a rather petite body which was outlined by a tight black uniform.

"Erasmus…" Shredder placed one hand on the shoulder of the other figure. His body was draped in a snug black uniform with the symbol of the foot proudly displayed on his left arm. He wore a stark black mask around his head and the strings that were gently falling down his shoulders, flowed once and awhile in the wind. His eyes were were glowing with a bright red hue, giving him a mysterious yet terrifying appearance. The only obscure details about the warrior were his sea green skin and a large bulk on his back.

"My lord." He responded in a moderate pitched but strict tone.

"This is your chance to show me who you truly are. You have not failed me yet, but make this your mark." The Shredder's voice was deep and threatening to his foot ninja but to these two, it was nothing more than the friendly voice of their Master, the one they grew up obeying.

"Yes…Father." Erasmus nodded.

"I will have my foot clan be on alert if anything is to go wrong but as long as you eliminate the problems and do as I said, you should be 100% flawless. It's time for the world to know who you are!" He raised his fists into the air and stirred the voices of his ninja's. They cheered, swung their weapons in the air, and swore obedience to the Shredder.

"Master Shredder." An extremely muscular, tall, blonde man with his hair tied back into a ponytail, walked down the carpet and approached the Shredder. He bowed and then stepped in front of Karai and Erasmus. "I assure you my dragons and I could do a better job than these…" he turned around and faced the growling Erasmus. "Amateurs…"

"Hun enough! I did not ask for you to present yourself to me! Leave before I let my son and daughter do away with you!" Shredder pointed to the door and ordered him out.

"Yes Master Shredder." He bowed again and when he turned around, Erasmus and Karai were smirking as they watched him walk out the door.

"I kind of wish he stayed. I've wanted to kick his ass for years." Erasmus smirked at Karai who smiled back in agreement.

"Soon enough my young ones. Soon enough. Hun's obedience to me has been… unsatisfying lately. If you are successful tonight, I will see to it you deal with Hun whatever way you wish." He promised them.

Erasmus reached behind his back and pulled out two sharp katana and spun them in small circles in front of him. "With pleasure." He growled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews guys!**

: Chapter 2: **(Don's POV)**

"How does it fit Don?" Raph watched me turn around in small circles in front of an old, cracked mirror we had hanging up in my work area.

"My hips aren't what they use to be." I sighed.

"Your 17 Donnie, I don't think your body's fallin apart just yet." Casey Jones laughed as he pulled out more clothes from the plastic bag he had brought with him. "Yah look good, I think that one fits. Here Raph, I brought this just for you." Casey handed Raphael a small red bow tie to compliment his black suit.

"Good, I can still keep my identity." He took it and threaded it around the collar of his tuxedo and fixed it in the front. "Now, how do _I_ look?" He held his arms out and spun in a circle.

"Besides yah muscles stickin out like a sore thumb…decent"

"Well I can't help that Casey. Yah can't ask perfection to fix itself." He grinned.

I stepped away from the mirror and ran my hands down the sides of my plastron. This tuxedo was a little tight around my arms (It's a mutant turtle thing) but other than that, it looked fine. Casey helped me prepare a purple tie to go around my neck. He said it would give me some 'oomph' whatever that meant.

"I gotta admit it boys….yah look great. WE look great!" Casey wrapped his arms over our shoulders and smiled in the mirror. "Let's go get some babes!"

"Who said anything about getting babes?" I asked while second guessing my decision to go to this dumb grand opening, especially with these two.

"It's a joke Donnie boy. Yah need to let lose man!" He grabbed my bicep and squeezed. I tried my best not to pull out my Bo-Staff and smack him upside the head for touching me.

"Ok, April's meetin us here and then we're ganna head over. There's ganna have food, a dedication and everyone gets a free tour of the place. What I really wanna see is that golden katana they got over there. It's supposedly worth more than the president himself!"

"There's a lot worth more than the president himself." Raph said to himself with a smirk on his face.

"Yah get the idea yah smartass." Casey laughed. He reached behind his back and pulled at his pants while doing a weird dance at the same time. "Is anyone else's tux riding up their…"

"Hey guys!"

We all whipped around and faced the door to the lair where April was walking in. Her long, red hair was pulled into a neat bun above her head with little pieces falling off her shoulders. Once and awhile she would stumble from the height of the shoes she was wearing.

"Ugh, stupid shoes! Wow, you guys look amazing." She smiled despite her frustration. I looked over at Casey whose mouth was dropped all the way open like a dog desperate for water. I couldn't blame him for being paralyzed like that though; April looked absolutely amazing in her short, black dress and designer shoes. Hey, I didn't know if they were _designer_, but shows you not to ask a turtle for fashion advice. I tried my best not to smile like a deranged hyena but I couldn't help it when she walked over to use and just stood there looking pretty.

"Well, um…" I brought my palm to the back of my head and smiled awkwardly while trying my best not to make eye contact. Raph walked over to the other side of me and elbowed me in the arm.

"Don't look at him Donnie, don't look at him." I told myself but of course, being the curious mutant I was, I turned my head and looked at his smirking face. He gestured towards the door where Casey was escorting April out the door.

"We'll wait for you guys in the car!" He yelled while shutting the door behind him.

"He's ganna wake up Mikey and then we're ganna have to take him with us." I growled and started for the door.

"Why don't yah go after her? Don't let old Case get the best of yah." He grabbed my arm and faced my body towards his.

"It's fine." I lowered my head and resisted eye contact. Some leader I was huh? I was never really one to express my feelings to my brothers, especially about girls.

"Look, let's just go to the party, have a good time and if yah wanna talk later we can. Sound good?" He patted my shoulders and used his hand to lift my head up. I nodded like a little child and let him walk me out the door. I really didn't want to go anywhere right now, I could just turn around and rip this extremely tight suit off and go work on something important. But as we walked closer and closer to the door, my stupid brain refused to pull away from my brother's grasp and by the time we were climbing up the ladder to the surface, it was already too late.

**:: (Erasmus's POV)**

You could say that most teenagers my age were going out, having fun and getting into all sorts of trouble. Most of them were your average humans, living a normal life most of the time and rolling through the motions. If you're like me though, being a teenager could be one of the greatest, and one of the worst times of your life.

I swore obedience to my father, and carried out his orders without question. I trained in the art of Bushido and mastered everything there was to learn about the ways of the ninja warrior. I've stolen countless numbers of lives, mostly my fathers most hated enemies and some of his foot ninja goons he thought he could no longer trust. I did all the dirty work while Karai, my sister, just sat around and watched.

She and I have completed countless numbers of minor robberies and execution jobs under the name of the Shredder. We grew up together, obeyed the Shredder together, and became what we are today without any regrets.

I've been asked by several people who were about to lose their lives, if there was any part of me that thought what I was doing was wrong. I never answered them, but the answer was no. I could pull off my tasks so easily that nothing fazed me anymore. I was used to death and misery and I always came out on top in the end. Even my sister was told by our father to obey me, which she always did without question.

"Erasmus." I turned my head enough that I could see Karai approaching me from behind.

"What is it Karai?"

"We are preparing to depart but I sense something is troubling you." She had this really strange accent that would get on my nerves once and awhile but I learned to deal with it.

"Nothing is wrong sister."

"Then why do you sit up here on the roof alone?" She sat down next to me and hung her feet over the edge.

"I didn't know wanting to be alone was against the rules." I kept my gaze on the night lit City out in front of me. I had a good view of the lower east side, where we would be heading in order to carry out our orders.

"Erasmus…" She reached her hand out and grabbed mine but I pulled away. "You can tell me."

I sighed and moved my hand back over top of hers. I _hated_ heart to heart conversations, but if it would get her to leave me alone, so be it. "You ever feel like…something's missing? That there's more to you than you think there is? I mean, we know how you came to be, Shredder found you alone in an alley and took you in when you were young, but we don't know about me. I'm a mutant, but what's my purpose?"

"You worry too much brother. Some of our stories were meant to stay concealed for our own sake but I assure you, your purpose is quite the same as my own." I could feel her eyes watching me but I just kept looking straight ahead to avoid eye contact.

"Let's go." I stood up and jumped off the roof to the lower level when I didn't feel like talking anymore. I grabbed a black bow from off the weapons rack and pulled back the string to make sure it was tight. This was the one I would be using for the heist. I loaded an arrow and aimed it at one of our Foot ninja's whose unlucky back was facing me. I shut one eye and released the string from my fingers. The arrow skimmed the top of the ninja's head and landed on the wall with his black mask dangling from it.

"You're a pretty good shot." Karai came up from behind me and grabbed the bow. "But I'm better." She loaded the weapon and pulled back the string. She took aim at the same ninja but this time the arrow struck him on the left arm and ripped off the Foot symbol patch. The arrow landed on the wall right next to mine and proudly displayed the garment.

"Show off." I smiled as she handed the Bow over to me. The ninja we were shooting at passed out on the floor in a heap. Looks like I would be doing another execution when we got back.

"Alright tuff shot, let's get a move on." She smiled at me and walked proudly out of the dojo with a dozen or so Foot ninja behind her.

"I thought I was leading this heist?" I caught up to her and grinned.

"You're too soft Erasmus; we all know you won't kill all the innocent people who will oppose us. Well, at least_ I_ know you won't."

"You don't know me Karai."

"Oh, but I do. I think growing up and spending 16 years with you is enough for me to know what you will and will not do Erasmus." She looked at me and smirked. She may be annoying most of the time, but sometimes when I looked at her I think I'm looking straight into a mirror. She knew what made me tick and used it to help me improve, or so she said. Of course, I believed she just used it to get under my skin and get some kind of thrill out of it.

"So you have a plan then?"

"I do have a plan but knowing your clumsy stealth skills, it probably won't go as planned."

I "tskd" and shook my head. "If you know me so well then I would think you would know that stealth was my strongest aspect."

"Stealth, and being extremely clumsy."

I quickly snapped my head towards her but she grinned and looked away before I could say anything further. "So the plan?"

"I'll explain all when we arrive at our destination."

"And what about these goons?" I gestured to the army of Foot behind us.

"They will be nothing more than gnomes to us. They will only get in the way."

"Funny, Shredder said to eliminate anyone who got in the way." I gave a half smile but kept my gaze away from her.

"Indeed he did."

**:: (Don's POV)**

"Hello first class!" Raphael stepped out of the van and threw his arms into the air. He got the attention and crazed looks of people who were passing by.

"Raph! Put yah hat on!" Casey threw a black fedora out the car window. He handed me mine and gave a thumbs up. "Don't want yah scaring the nice people now do we?"

"Thanks Casey. I'm glad you're so thoughtful." I teased him on pulled the hat over my head. I got out of the car and let the bright lights of the museum nearly blind my eyes. "This is a pretty big get together for just a small east side museum." I had to raise my voice over the large crowd of people gathering outside the front entrance.

"I told yah! It's a huge deal! Everyone wants to see the golden sword, and eat food of course." Casey snickered. April used her pocket book and smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

"Well, let's go I guess." Our small group walked side by side up the large sets of steps and onto a huge dining platform that was all decorated nice for the ceremony. There must have been at least 200 people standing around in fancy clothes and greeting one another. At the entrance to the museum, where two large pillars that stood on either side, a big brown podium was centered and a red ribbon ran from pillar to pillar.

"Look at all the babes." Raph growled and I heard April's pocket book smacking against him this time.

"I didn't know it was going to be this crowded. I hope you guys don't mind." April sounded worried.

"Don't worry about it April." Casey said. I'm glad Casey can speak for me since my voice appears to be broken.

"Oh look!" April pointed to a large glass case that was centered in the middle of the dining platform. Inside, was a large, golden sword with a silver grip. "I didn't know they were actually bringing it outside!"

"Well of course they are; that is the only reason all these people are here anyway." Casey chuckled.

"And the food." Raph finished.

"We better get a table before it gets too crowded." I spotted a small circular table with a red cloth over it and a beautiful vase of assorted flowers in the center. "There." I pointed to it and then led the group over. Casey pulled out a chair for April and pushed it back in once she sat down.

"This is so exciting!" She grabbed my arm and smiled once I sat down next to her. "I heard the Mayor himself is going to cut the ribbon!"

"You're much too excited about this April." Raph grinned.

"Am not Raphael! What I'm wondering is why we didn't bring Michelangelo." She turned to me and gave an unsatisfied look. I opened my arms out the side and gasped.

"It wasn't my idea!"

"Nah, Mikey would have eaten all the food. And besides, Splinter gives him a bed time since he's only 15 and refuses to train when he's supposed to." Raph put his hands behind his head and leaned back. "Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can."

Little did Raph know; the peace and quiet he thought he was going to have would be turning into a whole new level of chaos in the moments to come.


	3. Chapter 3

: Chapter 3: **(Don's POV)**

"I want to take the time to thank you all for coming out today to celebrate the Grand Opening of the Lower East Side Museum!" The crowd roared and smacked their hands together while a short, chunky man held his arms in the air and waved. "This project was solemnly funded by the amazing and dedicated people of New York City. The United Nations has decided to display the 1876 Golden Sword in this Museum and I am honored to be the one to cut this fine ribbon!" He held up a pair of large, silver scissors and waved them in the air while everyone clapped again.

"Just cut the damn thing already!" Raph rested his head against his hand.

"And now, I am happy to announce! The Lower East Side Museum is now in business!" He stepped away from the podium and placed the blades of the scissors against the ribbon. He paused for effect, and then clamped the blades shut; making two sides of the ribbon fall to the ground.

"Finally! Let's eat!" Casey yelled over the cheering crowd. I smiled and lightly smacked my hands together. This Museum looked like it had potential and I'm sure I could do a whole bunch of research on it as well.

"Please, help yourself to food and refreshments! We will begin the tour in an hour and a half!" The mayor took a small bow and then exited the stage.

"Donnie, come with me?" April held out her hand to me and I, without hesitation, took it in mine and helped her from her chair. I caught the angry look from Casey but I simply smiled back, completely unfazed. April and I walked up to the rows of tables that were covered with any and every type of food you could imagine. "I sort of wanted to talk to you." She bit one side of her lip and looked up into my eyes.

"Sure." I went to grab some plates for us to use but quickly recoiled back once I realized how bad I was shaking.

"It's about Casey Jones." She sighed and grabbed two plates and handed me one of them.

"Oh…" I carefully took it from her.

"Do you think he's a good guy?" She looked up at me after investigating a platter of grilled chicken.

"Uh…" I felt my heart begin to beat hard and fast. I was afraid the people around me would begin to hear its thundering tempo, especially April. "I suppose."

"I guess I kind of you know, like him? But I wanted to ask you what you thought first because you know; I think you and I are pretty close." She threaded her arm through the crook of mine and leaned her head against my shoulder.

"Well April, I think you should do whatever you think is right." I tried my best to end the conversation before I had an emotional breakdown.

"Oh…" She frowned, obviously unsatisfied by my response. "I was hoping you could help me decided what that was."

"I'm really no good at…" My eyes left hers and focused on an object behind her. After seeing this, she turned around and tried to find whatever I was looking at but had no such luck.

"What is it?"

"I thought I saw something." I handed her my plate and ran away from the tables of food. Raph, seeing me in a hurry, stood up from our table and looked at me for an answer. With a small movement of my head, he left the table and followed me off the platform.

"What's going on Don?" He asked me, sounding worried.

"I thought I saw a Foot ninja."

"Where?!" He opened the flap of his tuxedo and placed his fingers on the end of a sai.

"On the roof." I pointed to the building perpendicular to the museum. He moved his head to get a better look at it from my angle.

"I don't see anything Donnie." He sounded frustrated.

"I swear, someone's up there."

"Yah wanna check it out?" He asked me.

"Yah guys alright?" Casey hurried over with a concerned look on his face.

"Don thought he saw a Foot ninja." He made it sound like I was lying and that he didn't believe me.

"I didn't _think _I saw one. I know I did."

"Well, maybe it was just a cat or something." Casey suggested.

"I know what I saw!" I raised my voice and threw my hand into the air towards the building.

"Easy Bro, we believe you but whatever it was it aint there now so let's just go back and enjoy the party." He grabbed my arm and started to pull me back. I would have sworn I saw a foot ninja because the symbol on him was as clear as day! Maybe it was just my imagination playing tricks on me. After all, the girl of my dreams did just break my heart.

"Yeah…alright." I walked away from the road and joined the others back at the table but every once and awhile I would look back that hat building, knowing someone or something was lurking up there.

**:: (Erasmus's POV)**

"Fool!" Karai yelled at the dead body that just dropped from my arms. "This is why we should not have brought these untrained amateurs!"

"Anyone else feel like giving our position away?" I turned to the remaining 11 as they took a few steps back and shook their heads.

"Was killing him necessary? He just slipped that's all." One of them asked boldly but their voice was shaking violently.

"Did you just question him?" Karai pulled out one of her katana and held it against the rebel's neck. "That fool deserved what he got and if you think otherwise than maybe you should join him!"

"No please! I'm sorry mistress, please forgive me." He begged.

"You are nothing more than a waste of my time." She raised her katana and with one clean sweep, cut the throat of the ninja. He fell onto the ground in a pool of blood, making the others cower in fear.

"And then there were 10." I smirked.

"Anyone else want to say what's on their mind?" She ran her fingers across the blade of her katana.

"No Mistress Karai." They said in unison.

"Good. Now, let's resume." She sheathed her weapon. "Erasmus, you know what to do."

"Good luck with these guys." I pulled out my bow and aimed it at the roof of the museum. I shot the arrow to the other side which attached it with a long rope. I handed karai the Bow and jumped down onto the rope and walked steadily across it. Once I reached the other side, she swung it back over to me and made her ninja disperse.

"Let's do this." I slowly scaled the roof of the museum until I could get a good view of the Golden Sword without being seen. We weren't planning on it being right in the middle of the dining platform so we had to bend our plan a bit and rethink some things.

"Tell me when you're in place." I said through a small ear piece I had attached to my head. Karai had the only other receiver so our ninja team was left in the dark, just like we wanted.

"Expect to proceed in key minus 3 minutes." She responded.

"You know we're not going to be able to take this thing without causing an uprising."

"That is the plan Erasmus. If we can cause a large enough diversion, no one will notice it when you go in to take the sword because they will be too busy running away in fear." She sounded confident with her plan so I decided to pay nice for a while.

"Who exactly will they be running away from Karai?" I smiled.

"The pathetic excuse of a team we were forced to burden."

"The authorities will open fire on them."

"Yes, that may be one of the…flaws in our little plan but just a minor setback." I could almost feel the grin she probably had on her face and I was sure she could feel mine as well. Oh how we hated those Foot ninja. I was almost certain we were doing our father a favor by eliminating them one by one.

I got onto my belly and lay tight to the roof. I laid there for no more than 2 minutes before I saw our plan begin to take action. First, only one woman screamed when our ninjas appeared, and then a whole group of people until the entire herd of them were running around trying to find an exit. Sadly, the only exit they had was either to jump over the guard rail, or try and penetrate the group of Foot ninja that were blocking the exit. Something stood out though in all the chaos. There was a small group of maybe four people that were actually fighting our ninjas and doing it quite well may I add.

"My apologies Donnie!" One of them yelled.

"Karai, we've got some innovators. Want me to deal with them?" I used the sight on my bow to get a good look at the group. They looked like your average humans besides the weapons they were yielding.

"Do not!" I almost threw the earpiece on the ground after her screaming voice nearly deafened me.

"Do you know them?"

"No I…do not. I will deal with them myself."

The best part about being trained under Bushido was that you could tell when someone was lying to you. The fact that I knew my devious, two-faced sister was bending the truth, made me look like almost physic. If I knew what was good for me, I would have stayed out of it but of course, I had a small issue over taking orders from other people.

I reached my Bow behind my back and hooked the drawstring onto the grip of my katanas. I crawled to the edge of the roof and let my body fall right off. I landed hard on purpose, to get the attention of my new opponents. That's when I noticed how hard it was to see anything besides a small spotlight that was shining over the exit.

"Look, its daddy ninja!" A man in a black suit, red bowtie and black fedora spun a pair of Sai's on his fingertips. I would have sworn I counted only three fingers on the guy, but that was the least of my concerns. Another one in a white suit finished beating the hell out of the last ninja and cheered once he thought they had one.

"Oh there's one more." His smile dropped when he saw me.

"Erasmus!" A voice boomed through my earpiece. "Get out of there now!"

"Not now Karai." I responded.

"You know Karai?" A tall woman in a fitted, black dress took a step towards me.

"You know Karai?" I tilted my head to the side in a mocking manner while carefully pulling a katana out from underneath my bow. Another man in a black suit and purple tie shot his arm out in front of the woman and stopped her progression towards me.

"Leave now and I might keep yah in one piece." The one with the red tie had an annoying Brooklyn accent. Since you know how much I hate accents, I think I'll shut him up first.

"I'm only here for one thing so why don't you kids run along before you get hurt." I grinned while pointing my katana at the Golden Sword.

"Wait…yah think you're taking the Golden Sword? Only over my dead body Foot menace!" The ugly in the white suit yelled.

"Very well." I smiled and leapt into the air, making the group disperse into different directions. My father called this technique "scattering," and was used to make an enemy team weaker since they were separated from each other. While still in the air, I pulled the drawstring of my bow over my plastron and pull out my other Katana. When I landed away from the spotlight and in the shadows, they were already circling around me, except the girl who had run to the farthest end of the platform.

"Woah…" I turned my head enough so I could get a good look at the one behind me. "Do you have a tumor or something on your back?" The one with the purple tie asked.

"I should ask you the same." I asked while observing red tie man, who was walking sideways and occasionally stepped into the light long enough for me to examine him. For some unfathomable reason, his back extended out beyond what it should have been for a human, if he even was human.

"Enough talk!" The man in the white suit charged at me with his hands clenched together into fists. I almost laughed when he took his first swig and completely missed, making him stumble forward and receive a blow to the back by the butt of my katana. He collapsed onto the floor and moaned.

"Next?" I held my hand out and taunted the one in the purple tie. He had a long wooden Bo-Staff that he spun rapidly above his head. He ran forward and brought the staff down quickly but I jumped out of the way before it could hit me. I used both of my swords to grab ahold of the staff and fling it out of his grasp. Before he could process what just happened, I delivered a roundhouse kick right to his chest that sent him flying back into the tables of food.

"Last but not least…" The tip of my blades dragged on the cement floor as the final man growled at me with his Sais close to his head.

"Figures yah gotta pick us off one by one. But I guess that's what you un-honorable Foot fools do huh?" He grinned.

"I was just making it fair. But if you want to revive your friends over there I'll be happy to take you all on at once." I extended one sword out to him and the other staggered behind.

He stepped into the small spotlight and used the tip of the sharpest blade on his weapon to remove the hat from his head. I lowered my swords and took a step back when I saw that his face was green like mine.

"What's the matter? Never seen a mutant before?" He straightened his posture and chuckled deeply, making his shoulder rise and fall.

"Actually, I have." I tilted my head down and put one foot into the light, then slowly, my whole body. The look on his face was priceless as my sea green skin appeared to be a shocking surprise to him, making my grin extended even farther across my face.

"What are you?" He asked, looking bewildered.

"Too bad you won't live long enough to find out." I dragged my katana's behind me as I ran for him. He quickly shook his head and then met me right in the center of the lit circle. Our blades repeatedly struck each other as we battled vigilantly. This one was better than the others and appeared to be an actual challenge for me.

When I brought my swords down over my head, he caught them in the crooks of his Sai's and tried to bend them sideways. We stood motionless and glared at each other as either one of us tried to rid the other of their weapons.

"Yah ganna answer me?" He said with a growl. "I hate to say yah look familiar."

"Likewise warrior." I grinned.

"I guess there's one thing we don't got in common though." He bent his elbows just enough so that his Sai's snapped my swords right in half and sent the top pieces flying in different directions. I was stupid enough to hesitate once they broke and gasped as his foot made contact with my plastron, knocking me back against one of the museums pillars. I moaned and tried to get up off the floor but he caught up to me in time to jump on top of my body and pin me to the ground. "I always win."

I growled and tried to break free from him but every time I twisted my body, his fingers sunk deeper into the pressure points on my shoulders. I knew if he pushed too hard, he could paralyze me from the neck down so I stopped fighting. "Now, I think I'm open for some answers Foot scum."

"You think just because you defeated me, means I will tell you what you want to hear?"

"If yah had any sense of honor then I would imagine so."

I was trained in one way and one way only. To never accept failure and to do whatever it took to come out on top, even if it meant going against your teachings and destroying the little honor you had left. But, I was just as curious about him as he was about me. Never in my 18 years of life had I ever seen another mutant. Even my sister had told me I was the only one of my kind and unique to the Shredder. Either she lied to me, or this guy was some crazy asshole on drugs.

"You first freak show." I ordered.

"Excuse me? Last time I checked, you lost which explains why_ I'm_ on top of _you_ and not the other way around."

"Depends how you look at it." I smirked, making him growl under his breath.

"Talk." He pressed the tip of a Sai against my neck. "Or I'll find out myself."

"You will not!" Suddenly, a foot shot out of the dark and flung the heavy weight off my body. She landed in the spotlight with her swords gripped tightly in her hands. "Erasmus, I told you not to engage!" She pulled me up off the ground.

"You lied to me." I straightened my posture and looked down over her.

"What are you talking about?!"

"You said I was the only mutant alive!"

"You _are_ the only mutant alive Erasmus!"

"Then explain him!" I pointed to the angry mutant who was starting to get up off the floor. "You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do Karai."

**Please review and let me know what you think! It helps so so much! Thanks again!**


	4. Chapter 4

: Chapter 4: **(Third Person POV)**

"So you failed." Erasmus and Karai knelt on the floor while their master paced back and forth in front of them. "I thought better of you two!"

"Forgive us master. There were some…complications." Karai stated while receiving an angry look from Erasmus.

"What sort of complications could possibly bid my two best warriors to fail?!" He kicked one of the furnaces that were burning with flame onto the ground, lighting the wooden floor on fire.

"It was them." Karai briefly explained. Suddenly, Shredder unclenched his fists and relaxed his tense muscles. "Karai, with me." She stood up off the ground and followed her master into a room in the back of the dojo, leaving Erasmus alone. "Was it the turtles?" He growled.

"Yes, my lord."

"Tell me Erasmus did not see them!"

"I'm afraid he did. I told him to not engage but he did anyway. But, he only saw the one known as Raphael even though Donatello was there as well." Karai's hands began to shake as her father paced the room once more.

"Does he know Raphael is like him?! Does he know he is a mutant?!"

"I believe he knows he is mutated, but I assure you he has no idea they are turtles."

"That is not good enough!" He used the blades on the end of his wrists to cut a long gash down the brick wall. "If Leonardo finds out he is related to them he will betray us! I told you this urgency several years ago in hopes that you would prevent it from happening but now I see you have failed me once again!"

"Forgive me master." She pleaded.

"He is my best warrior! I cannot lose him because my own daughter is sloppy in her work!"

"I will see to it that it doesn't happen again."

"You better Karai. Now you must go and fix his mind before it gets any worse!"

Karai bowed to her master and walked out of the small room. She rejoined Erasmus who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Who was he?" He said in a deep, threatening voice.

"He goes by the name Raphael. He is a human ninja, trained once by the Shredder." She had to hold her hands behind her back to prevent her brother from seeing her trembling.

"Karai Kariai, when will you learn that you can't lie to me?" He pushed off the wall and slowly started to walk towards her.

"It is the truth Erasmus!" She took a few steps back but her body shook with each movement she made.

"That man was no human Karai! His skin was green for God's sake!"

"It was dark outside! How could have possibly seen him well enough to come to such conclusions?!" She gasped when her back hit the wall behind them, allowing Erasmus to trap her in. He slammed both his hands against the back wall on both sides of her and leaned in close enough to try and squeeze the truth from her lying tongue.

"I know what I saw and you better tell me the truth. Have I been living amongst others like me? Have I?!" His red eyes beamed into hers. The heat from his burning skin formed droplets of sweat that began to collect on his forehead and fall onto his mask.

"I already told you, they are not mutants." She kept her voice strong despite the fact that her brother was on the verge of possibly murdering her. He growled and pushed away from the wall in frustration.

"If you won't tell me then I guess I'll have to find out for myself!"

"Why are you so interested in this matter Le…Erasmus."

"If they were simply mutants I wouldn't care at all, but this one was different. He looked like me Karai, didn't you see it?!" He turned back to his sister and grabbed her shoulders.

"I did not." She spoke quietly.

"I think…"

"You think nothing!" Shredder came out form the back room and approached the two of them. They stopped where they were and fell onto one knee. "This person in question is nothing more than an old enemy of mine. You were in no condition to make such a ridiculous judgment Erasmus! You think your own master would lie to you?!"

"No…my lord." Erasmus tilted his head down and snarled.

"Then enough of this mutant nonsense! I need you at your best and I cannot have that when you are busy living in a fantasy world!" He clenched his fist near his face and then walked away from them. "Baxter Stockman would like to see you two in his lab immediately."

"But master, you said we didn't have to work for him anymore!" Karai stood up and shouted.

"You can thank Erasmus' recent outcry for that one." He opened the door to the dojo and walked out.

"This is your fault!" Karai pulled out her swords and lunged towards her brother. Without a single change of emotion or movement, he grabbed her wrist and flipped her over onto her back so she was directly underneath him. "Now we have to take orders from the robot menace!"

"So, you think this is my fault?" He kept ahold of her despite her failed attempts to break free. "You're a piece of work Karai." He let her go, stood up, and started for the door. "And I was so looking forward to killing Hun too."

"Well then you shouldn't have disobeyed my command!" She jumped up and followed him out the door. "Now the Shredder thinks you are insane!"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not but I know what I saw. That mutant was a turtle like me and despite everything you've told me, he exists."

"Erasmus!" She slammed her palms against his chest and pushed his shell against the wall. "You cannot go around saying that! The Shredder will do away with you if you mention such atrocities! It is not possible; ask Baxter himself if you must." She slowly ran her hands down his plastron and released him.

"For someone who thinks it's not a big deal, you're sure making one out of it. And thanks for the advice." With that, he continued down the hall until he reached the elevator that would take him to Stockman's laboratory.

**:: (Don's POV)**

"Are you sure Raphael?" I said while struggling to pull off my tuxedo.

"I saw it Donnie boy, clear as day! That Foot ninja was a turtle and I'd bet Mikey's life on it."

"Of course you would." I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Even if he was a turtle, why are you so worried about it? So what the Foot have a mutant on their side? It's not like we couldn't take him in a fight."

"Did yah forget that he threw you into the potato salad?" I saw him grinning in the mirror.

"Well, I wasn't expecting him to be that good." I admitted while finally releasing my bulky arms from their tuxedo prison. "Besides, he seemed a lot like Karai."

"Your sayin that like it's a good thing!" He exclaimed.

"Well it is! Karai seems…very unsure. Remember she hesitated when the Shredder told her to chop your head off?" I tried to give a good example but I don't think that was the one I was looking for. "I think they could still be impressionable and this 'turtle' you speak of _did _look like he was about our age."

"Yah see!" Raph grabbed ahold of my shoulders and shook me back and forth. "Imagine havin another turtle on the team!"

"What about Karai?"

"Ah, screw Karai."

"That might hurt since she's related to the Shredder." Mikey walked over with a piece of pizza in his hand.

"When did you get up?" I turned to him with my hands on my hips.

"I've been up! I had no idea you guys went to a party without me either! What am I not part of the team?!" He whined.

"Of course your apart of the team Michelangelo. Don't worry, we wished we brought you. We could have used the extra man power." I sighed at the awful memory of landing in the huge bowl of potato salad.

"Yah, I heard you guys got your shells handed to yah." He grinned.

"Gee, I wonder who could have told yah that." Raph looked over at the kitchen where Casey was stuffing pizza down his gullet. "I'm sure Case forgot to mention he got spanked as well."

"HEY! We agreed to let that go Bro!" Casey pointed to him with his pizza.

"So you're saying this 'mystery ninja' was a turtle like us?!" Mike smiled with delight.

"It's not for certain." I shot Raph a look. I guess I somewhat believed his little tall tale. It's not like it was _impossible_ for there to be another one of us but it certainly was extremely rare considering the mutagen that mutated us as babies was unique to our DNA. Meaning, each canister of mutagen that was spilt during the unfortunate TCRI accident, had a specific genetic code that would affect anything that came into contact with it in a different way. Our specific canister was combined with human DNA, so if this other turtle looked practically human enough to fool us, it was possible that the mutagen that mutated us, ran down stream and mutated him as well. Yeah I know, it's complicated stuff but that's why I do all the thinking around here.

"But it's certainly possible." I admitted.

"Thanks for letting me use your shower guys." April walked out of the bathroom with a towel over her hair and a pink bathrobe covering her body. "What a night huh?"

"You can say that again." Raph snickered. "Did Casey tell yah what we found out?"

"No? What did you find out?" She looked at Casey with a great deal of curiosity.

"Well, yah know that ninja that attacked us?" He began.

"You mean _all_ the ninja that attacked us?" She laughed.

"No, I mean the one at the end with those creepy red eyes?"

"Oh yeah I remember. What about him?"

"Well…." Casey looked over to Raphael. "We think he was a turtle. Just like the guys."

"Really? Like, a mutant turtle?"

"No, they got their butts kicked by a slow ass tortoise." Everyone couldn't help but laugh at Michelangelo's remark.

"Yes, a teenage mutant ninja turtle, just like them. Aint that mind bobbling?!" Casey threw his arms into the air and grabbed his head. "I still can't even believe it! Aw, wouldn't it be awesome if he was a chick instead of a dude?!"

"TOTALLY!" Mikey ran over and gave Casey a high-five.

"So what are you going to do about it?" April rolled her eyes at the two of them.

"Not sure. Maybe go lookin for him I don't know." Raph sighed. "He was hostile though and I really don't wanna get in a fight with him again."

"Aw, he's afraid he'll get his shell kicked again aint yah Raphie?!" Mikey chuckled.

"I told you…never to call me RAPHIE!" He growled and pulled out his Sais.

"Meep!" Mike took cover underneath the kitchen table. "Save the pizza Casey! Go on without me!"

"Anyway!" April called out. "Did you tell Master Splinter yet?"

"No, we don't want to worry him." I confessed.

"How will that worry him?" Raph said in a defensive tone.

"I don't know…he might be worried that we'll go out after him and get hurt in the process. You can't look me in the eye and say that ninja isn't dangerous after he nearly kicked all our sorry butts." I said.

"Does this 'ninja' have a name?" April asked. She looked to each of us for an answer but we all shook our heads.

"I heard Karai call him something but I can't remember. I was too busy being knocked flat on my shell. I think she called him humus or something." Raph lifted his shoulders like he had no idea what he was talking about.

"HUMUS?!" Mikey crawled out from under the table and started cracking up. "HUMUS! What kind of name is humus?!"

"I said I THINK she called him that!" He face palmed. "Would you like a pet, Casey?" He gestured to our annoying brother but Casey held up his hands and shook his head.

"No thanks I'm good unless it aint Mikey."

"Hey hey, I got a joke for yah since we're talking about this. If a female peacock is called a pea hen…what do you call a baby peacock?" We all rolled our eyes and moaned once the orange clad turtle started bouncing up and down with excitement.

"A pea chick! Get it?"

"Ok so what do you call a dead Pea Chick?" Casey smirked. "Humus."

"Casey Jones that was terrible!" April slapped him in the arm. "Don't you laugh at that Raphael!"

"Sorry, it was funny April." He grinned. "Ah crap, here comes Splinta." Everyone straightened up and tried their best to act natural as our Sensei walked into the living room.

"Good morning my sons and…April and Casey" He looked at them with a confused expression.

"Hello Sensei, we had a little trouble at the party so we came back here to freshen up. I hope you don't mind." April said in a sweet, gentle voice.

"Oh course not my dear but if you don't mind me asking, what sort of trouble did you get into?" He asked.

"We found another mutant turtle." Casey spat out which was followed by a face palm from both Raph and I. Never trust Casey Jones with any of your secrets.

"You what?" Splinter look confused but also looked like he was about to have a heart attack at the same time.

"Yah some fancy Foot ninja's got some mutant turtle DNA." He continued.

"Sensei? Are you alright?!" April caught his body right as it went limp and fell over. "Sensei?!"

"Mikey get some cold water!" I ordered him while rushing over to our father. "Sensei can you hear me?" I took him from April's arms and gently sat down on the floor with him. "Splinter?!"

"Leonardo…you're alive."

**I apologize for all the dialogue xD Is it annoying when I have it line by line or should I try and put it into smaller paragraphs? Thanks for all the reviews guys!**


	5. Chapter 5

: Chapter 5: **(Don's POV)**

"Who's Leonardo?" Raph pondered while I knelt down and rested our Sensei safely on the couch.

"I don't know, but whoever he is, Splinter knows him." I sighed as I dipped a rag into the bowl of cold water and placed it on Splinter's head.

"Yah think it's that ninja guy we fought at the museum?"

"It's a possibility, but we won't know for sure until Sensei wakes up. For now, we have to let him rest, he's out cold." I stood up and threw a blanket across his freezing body. "This is why I said we shouldn't have told him."

"How were we suppose to know he was ganna have a meltdown? Let me rephrase that, how was _Casey Jones_ supposed to know that? He never even thinks for cryin out loud!" Raph exclaimed.

"All I know is that I can't wait for him to wake up." I slowly walked away from the couch and into the kitchen where April was sitting at the table staring into space. "You ok?" I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Who's Leonardo?! Your Sensei just scared the living daylights out of me!" She yelled. "First he faints in my arms then he says something really creepy before he completely passes out!"

"Relax babe!" Casey walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her and pushing mine away in the process. "I'm sure Splinter will wake up soon and then we can get some answers but for now, we need to be patient and wait."

"Wow…that's really thoughtful of you Casey." April smiled up at him but then looked away after her cheeks turned a bright red. Oh Casey Jones, I dream about ways to make you 'disappear' in my sleep. And I'm sorry! I'm not a violent person but this guy is just driving me nuts!

"Hey Case, why don't you and I hit the rooftops for a while? I need to clear my head a little." Raph looked at me and shot a wink.

"Uh sure Raph, let's go." He awkwardly left April and joined Casey at the door. "We'll be back soon guys."

"Yeh don't hurry back." I said under my breath as they walked out the door.

"I heard that Donatello." April looked at me and gave me an unsatisfied grin. "Don't you like Casey?"

"I like Casey! I mean, I get along with….we're acquaint…ok no I don't like him."

April giggled and pushed out a chair for me to sit at. "Well why not?" I sighed and sat down after receiving a puppy eyed look from her.

"No reason." I lied.

"You're lying."

"Am not!" I crossed my arms and turned away from her.

"You know how I know? Whenever you lie you act like child." She smiled.

"What's that supposed to mean?! I'm perfectly alright with Casey Jones being here."

"You're cute Donnie and I get the idea you don't want to tell me and you don't have to if you don't want to. But if you ever do, I'll always be here to listen ok?" She wrapped her hand over top of mine and squeezed. I kept my glare at the two of our hands instead of her conniving green eyes. She patted again and then walked away back to the bathroom. Once the door shut, I slammed my arms on the table and dropped my head into them. I started mumbling words and insulting myself into my arm and then occasional waving a hand in the air for effect.

"Uhh…did you forget to take your crazy pills Donnie?"

I quickly lifted my head up to find Michelangelo staring at me with his mouth half open.

"You don't understand Mikey." I got up from the table and began to walk away. "I've been stood up because of Casey Jones…CASEY JONES."

"Dude, I've never seen you so upset before. It's just Casey Jones Haha."

"I'm sorry, I just…need to get some sleep that's all. Just some sleep." I turned back around and walked over to the living room. I checked on Master Splinter and re-watered the washcloth that was completely dried up from his body heat. After I made sure he was alright, I positioned myself on the smaller couch, which was perpendicular to the large one, and shut my eyes.

"Mikey, wake me up in 20 minutes ok?" I called out to him.

"Sure, sure. Hey, you don't mind if I play video games while you nap do you?" He asked politely.

"No, just don't be loud like you usually are."

"Ok I…hey! I take that as an offensive statement!" He whined and turned on the T.V.

"That's because it was." I shot him a reassuring smile before drifting off into the deepest sleep I'd been in for what seemed like years.

**:: (Third Person POV)**

Raph and Casey leapt off a roof and landed on the next one down in perfect sync. The sun was just starting to come up, awakening the City to a brand new day, but making the night creatures cower back into their hiding places. They would reemerge once again after the sun went down and cause all new sorts of chaos during the night. But these two welcomed the new day by racing across the building's rooftops and pushing each other to see how far they could go.

"Geezses Raph, I thought we were taking it easy!" Casey called out after beginning to lose his breath and feeling his muscles begin to reject all the rigorous exercise. But this is what Raph did to relieve stress so he tried to keep going for his friend's sake.

Across Manhattan they went, jumping, flipping and landing perfectly everywhere their bodies wanted to take them. Raphael especially refused to stop even though he wanted to collapse on the floor and pass out not only from fatigue, but from the state of his mind.

By the time the sun had fully lighten the sky, they had gone from one end of the City to the other where finally Raphael decided to stop. He held up his hand and placed one foot on the edge of the roof.

"Oh thank God!" Casey collapsed onto the gravel and started to pant like a fish out of water. "That's my workout for the next decade bro." After he caught his breath, he stood up off the ground and joined the turtle at the edge of the roof. "What did yah bring us here for?"

"I needed to clear my mind. Sensei use to bring us here whenever we were sloppy in our work. It helped us calm down and refocus." Raph closed his eyes and let the ocean's breeze run across his face.

"I don't see how looking out across the ocean is peaceful." Casey plopped back down on the roof next to Raph who sat down as well with his Sai's gripped firmly in his hands.

"Don't tell the others I come here, got it?!" He held the weapons to Casey's throat and drew back once the long-haired man nodded. "They can't know I have a soft spot for this place."

"They won't Bro, I promise." Casey also shut his eyes and let the salty air hit his skin. "Smells great."

"Yeah, they built a cargo ship port not too long ago so now it smells like gasoline and burnt coal all the time." Raph sighed.

"What kind of Cargo ships?" Casey's voice suddenly changed to a more desperate tone.

"Usually foreign trade ships I think, why?" Raph opened his eyes and looked at his worried friend.

"So, would the Foot be interested in foreign trade ships?" Casey pointed down to the docks where a large ship was just pulling in. Not too far away down below, almost three dozen Foot ninja were hiding behind crates awaiting the ships arrival.

"I'll be damned."Raph stood up abruptly. "This just made my day."

"Exactly! Why are those stupid Foot ninja working during the day?!"

"I don't know, but all I care about is that I am definitely in the mood for a good beat down." Raph jumped off the roof and started to run towards the Ninja's.

"Raph! Your insane yah ganna get caught! Oh screw it!" Casey grabbed a pipe that was attached to the roof and jumped off. "Goongala!"

**:: (Third Person POV)**

"Ah, Erasmus. I see the Shredder has lost faith in you." A dark skinned man with glasses and an eye patch over one eye, rolled up to the angry turtle in an old, beat up wheel chair. "But no worries, I have a good task for you to complete."

"Shut up and get to the point." Erasmus walked right past the man and leaned up against one of his lab tables.

"Alright, I currently am working on new armor for the Shredder, by his command of course, and I'm lacking certain supplies that I need for it." Stockman rolled up to one of his computers and typed something on the keyboard. Over a large screen in the middle of the room, sets of blueprints began to show up.

"So what is it?" Erasmus asked, sounding bored.

"These are blueprints straight from Russia itself. It took a bit of hacking and virus placement but I finally discovered a precious metal even rarer and stronger than a hope diamond. They were planning on using it to build weapons, but they sold their entire supply to Mexico for over $30 billion."

"And?"

"The ship carrying it to the Mexicans is supposed to make a stop in New York City for a refueling." Stockman folded his fingers together and gave a devious smile.

"And you want me to steal it."

"I like the way you think Erasmus. The ship is due to dock in 30 minutes but I assure you it will be heavily guarded. This is no easy task, are you still up for it?"

"It's better than sitting around here all day. Tell me all you can about this ship and I'll see what I can do." Erasmus pushed off the table and approached Stockman's computer.

"The metal their carrying is called Stalinium, named after Joseph Stalin. There is approximately 5.32 Kilos of it stored in the Bow of the ship. You have one of two choices, I can ship you out to sea, meet the boat halfway and from there you can board and retrieve it before the sun comes up. Or, you can wait for the boat to dock and then climb aboard but risk being seen during the day." He questioned but Erasmus didn't have to think very long about what to do and gave a clear answer.

"I'll wait for it to dock. Then I can use the Foot ninja's to create a diversion while I retrieve it."

"What about Karai?" Stockman smiled.

"She can stay here. I can move quicker without her."

"Alright, then it's settled. Here's the exact address where it will be docking." He handed Erasmus a small, white envelope. "Good luck." Erasmus took it and walked out the door in a hurry.

"Such a good young lad he is…such a good young lad."

**:: **

I'm supposed to be out there fighting, not walking around doing Stockman's chores! I led a group of Foot ninja quickly across Manhattan to our destination. The sound of their movements behind me almost triggered my gag reflexes. If it were up to me, I would turn around and start slicing all their heads off but according to the Shredder, they make good bait and practice dummies.

The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon when I could finally see the docks coming up ahead. I was way beyond heisting and this kind of work was almost a second nature to me. Hopefully the Shredder would recognize me again and allow me to work alongside him once more.

Once I thought I was close enough to get a good view, I halted the Foot ninja's and told them the plan.

"Once that boat docks, all you are going to jump out from behind those crates and make a scene while I get aboard and grab something." We never told our Ninja's what we were looting whenever we went on heisting missions. It's sort of a hatred thing that Karai and I started awhile back but I kept to it even when she was absent. "This is a really simple job and if you screw it up…I shouldn't have to tell you what will happen then." I jumped down off the roof and hid behind a stack of crates and boxes. The Ninja's followed behind me and spread out amongst the loading yard.

We arrived just in time, I could hear the sound of the boat arriving and people beginning to prepare for the refuel. They called out to each other and grabbed supplies from all around us but we still stayed hidden in the little bit of shadows we had left.

"Get the water ready!" One yelled out to the other. I stood up just enough so I could peak my head over the stacks boxes. The ship just pulled in, it's now or never. I knelt back down and waved to the closest Ninja to me. He nodded his head and signaled the others to go. All at once, they jumped out from their hiding spots and drew their weapons. Gunfire immediately followed proving Stockman was correct, these men were armed but that didn't matter to me. Slowly, I pushed forward while keeping cover behind crates. The sun was high in the sky, making sneaking about a bit more complicated but doable.

All seemed to be going perfectly as planned but out of the corner of my eye, a flash of green and red leaped on top of a black figure. When I looked to see what it was, the black figure was one of my Ninja and he was out cold on the ground. More gunshots emerged and the sound of metal on metal got closer and closer to my position. I kept moving forward until I could see the ramp to the ship beginning to shut in order to protect the cargo.

I sprinted away from my cover and pulled out my Katanas on the way. I used them to dodge bullets and slice anyone who got in my way, even my own team. The door was almost shut but I could still make it if I jumped off the dock. I ran as fast as I could and as hard as my legs would take me. I leaped off the dock and reached my arms out to grab ramp but suddenly, my body was pulled down by something making me miss my target. My fingers scrapped along the side of the boat until the both of us went crashing right into the ocean.

**Since I know how much you guys love cliffhangers. Lol Thanks for all the reviews and continued support!**


	6. Chapter 6

: Chapter 6: **(Erasmus's POV)**

The night's breeze had turned the ocean's waters into an icy blanket, even after the sun was up. I was first to hit the water and then my adversary fell right on top of my back, knocking the wind out of me even from below the surface. I shut my eyes quickly after he hit to try and prevent my body's instinct to gasp for air which obviously, there was none.

I could hear the propellers from the boat began to turn so I was hoping and praying they were large enough to create air bubbles. I reached my hand out slowly in front of me and felt small objects begin to tickle the palm of my hand. I followed direction they were going, which was always up, and let them lead me back up to the top of the ocean.

My head shot out of the water and I immediately started to gasp for air. Then, I was finally able to see who had dragged me off target. He swam to the edge of the dock and crawled up the ladder back onto dry land where a tall, longhaired man helped pull him up. They spoke a few words and then the green-skinned creature turned around and pointed at me.

"I'll be damned." The tall man said. My body was still dying for the air that refused to reenter my lungs and I guess they saw that considering the culprit jumped back in after me and brought my useless corpse ashore. I felt like a fool being rescued by the enemy but after he laid me on the ground, I realized I had seen him before and he was no enemy. He was now my primary falsifier seeing his added attempts to sabotage my plots. First the Golden Sword, now this.

Finally, I was able to take deep breaths and slow my breathing enough so I could jump off the ground and reach for my katana's. I felt my heart sink into my stomach as I realized they were gone. They must have fallen down into the ocean during my underwater struggle.

Suddenly, a loud horn exploded over the water and I realized that the cargo ship had pulled away from the docks and was now out to sea.

"NO!" I ran past the two vigilantes as far as I could until a huge stack of crates blocked my path. "No no no!" I fell on my knees and slammed my fists on the wooden boards. "This is your fault!" I jumped up and faced the two men.

"Don't yah know that stealing other peoples stuff isn't nice?" The tall man cocked his head and grinned.

"I'll have your heads for this!" I threatened but found myself to be less forthcoming without my beloved weapons. "And you…" I pointed to the green creature and confirmed he was the same guy who stopped and defeated me at the museum. "This is the second time you've interfered with my plans!"

"Well if yah would stay out of trouble I wouldn't have to punish you for it." He grinned and sheathed his Sai's. "To be honest, I didn't even know yah would be here." The tall man gave him a strange look as he approached me with his arms open (no, not for a hug).

"I'm Raphael, and you are?" I recognized his really strong and annoying Brooklyn accent. Without his tuxedo on, his body shape, plastron, and skin textures were all identical to mine but I wore a full uniform to conceal it, unlike him. This guy was full out naked in my terms except for his red mask and elbow and knee pads.

"Who's asking?" I growled, making him stop his progression towards me.

"No one, but if yah don't tell me we're all ganna keep calling yah humus." He grinned along with his friend.

"Whose 'we're all'?" I forcefully questioned.

"My brothers, remember? You beat up one of them along with this knucklehead." Raphael pointed to the man behind him.

"Ah yes, now I remember." I chuckled at the memory. "I could never forget a good victory."

"Then I'm surprised you remember me." He smirked and I couldn't help but manage one as well. Even though this turtle was my much hated enemy, I was starting to like his attitude and the fact that he was a mutant, like myself.

"The Shredder lied to me." I said. "He told me there were no more mutants left in the world yet here you stand, right in front of me."

"The Shredder has a knack for lyin' if yah haven't already noticed." He sighed and dug the tip of his two-toed foot into the ground. "So does that mean you're a mutant too? It's not like the green skin didn't jump out at me or anything." He chuckled.

I hesitated for a moment and decided whether or not I should tell him anything, especially about my mutant background. "Yeah, I'm mutated from turtle DNA, or at least that's what the Shredder told me. But by the looks of it, he could be lying about that too.

"So what exactly did the Shredder tell yah then?"

"Look, we may be alike but your still the reason I got ranked down to doing Stockman's heisting work." I jumped up over their heads and landed on a stack of cargo boxes. "Now if you'll excuse me." I used the tip of my toe and unclipped the buckle that was keeping them together. When I pushed off the crates, they all went crashing to the ground nearly squashing the two vigilantes. I made it out of there in time so that they couldn't see which direction I was going in even though it was probably already obvious.

**:: (Third Person POV)**

"What the hell Raph!" Casey slapped his friend upside the head and got in his face. "Way to make friends with a Foot ninja!"

"We aint friends!" Raph punched him back. "I was just curious and I was right too! He is a mutant!" Raph suddenly threw his hands in the air and cursed himself out. "And I didn't get his name either!"

"Well maybe you two should have a slumber party and find out since you're such good friends!" Casey huffed and started to walk away from the docks.

"Casey cmon!" Raph ran after him and nudge him aside. "I just wanted information but since he's a Foot, I didn't get very much like I hoped for."

"So now what?" Casey asked, still sounding irritated.

"Let's go back and see if Splinter is awake. And Casey…no one needs to know we ran into him again. Got it?!" Raph slammed his friend against the wall and grabbed the collar of his T-shirt.

"Alright man geesez!"

Raph let him go and sighed. "Why does life have to be so complicated? Can't people just do what I say and then we all walk away happy?"

"It aint complicated! You're makin it that way by…" He stopped his sentence after receiving a look from Raphael. "…by being totally awesome!"

"Yeah, that's what I thought you said."

**:: (Don's POV)**

When I woke up, my body was chilled to the bone and goose bumps were forming on my arms and legs. I quickly shot straight up and looked around the lair for my useless alarm clock.

"Mikey!" I called out. "I told you not to let me sleep for more than 20 minutes!"

"Oh? You said 20 minutes?" When I looked over to see where he was long and behold, he was right where I left him when I went to sleep. "You looked so cute so I decided not to wake you up."

"That or you completely forgot because you were too busy playing video games!" I shook my head and stood up off the couch slowly to allow my muscles warm up. "How's Splinter?" I asked him.

"He's been making some crazy ass noises while you were out. I watered his head a few times but that's about it."

"You watered his head? Not like a plant I hope." I bent down next to our Sensei and felt his forehead. He was certainly cooling down which was a good sign. "Raph and Casey back yet?"

"No, they've been out for almost 2 hours now and if you ask me, I think it's better that way." He snickered.

"Good thing I didn't ask you."

"Jerk." Mikey turned around and shot his tongue out at me while I walked away from the living room. Once he realized I had seen him, he quickly faced the other direction with shocked look on his face. "I love you bro…I love you."

"That or you just don't want me to hurt you."

"Little bit of both actually." He admitted.

"Whatever, get off your shell and go contact Raph." I ordered him. He whined and shut off the T.V and very slowly walked over to the telephone we had plugged into the wall. He punched in a few numbers and then leaned his head back in boredom.

"Ring ring. Operator….well geeze don't need to be such a downer!" He slammed the phone back on the wall and pouted. "Here are the words straight from Raph: "IM COMING!" Right then, the door to the lair opened and in walked Raph and Casey Jones who looked a little beat up around the edges. Once my brother got over to me I pulled him to the side.

"You didn't have to beat him up Raph." I smiled although my mind was saying otherwise. There's nothing better than watching Casey Jones limp around the lair trying to find a place to rest while his wounds heal.

"I didn't beat him up, although I'd certainly like to." He grinned.

"So what happened?" I asked.

"Eh, we got into a little scuffle with some Foot ninja but we took em out easy." He walked away and over to the fridge where he pulled out a bottle of soda and started chugging it down.

"You seem a bit dehydrated…you sure that's all that happened? I thought Foot ninja were no match for you?"

He completely finished the brand new, 2 liter bottle and smashed the empty container on the counter. After belching louder than I was expecting, he turned to me and smiled.

"We ran a lot." He answered.

"Really? How far?" I pretended to be really curious but he obviously caught on and frowned.

"As far as me and yah mom went last night." He smiled again and walked away.

"That would make her your mom too." I rolled my eyes and walked back over to the living room in defeat. "And what did I say about those stupid mom jokes?!"

"That there funny!"

"Shut up Mikey." Raph slapped his brother in the head. "So how's Splinter?"

"Fantastic." I knelt back down at his side and felt his forehead again. "He doesn't have a fever anymore but he still isn't waking up." I sighed. I wouldn't be able to run this family for much longer without him here to keep me sane.

"Maybe he's part possum and he's just playing dead." Michelangelo snickered and walked over to the living room.

"Sure, and maybe your actually smart and just playing stupid." Raph slapped him in the head and laughed.

"Oh haha your so funny Raphie." It was wise of Mikey to sprint for his room after making that remark. I'd never see him run so fast before in my life and it certainly made my day.

"You're ganna let him get away with that?" I looked up at Raph and smiled.

"Nah, I'll get him later when I'm in the mood to kill."

"I might beat yah too it Raph." Casey plopped down on the other sofa with a soda can in his hand. "Hey, where's April?"

"She went home Casey." I rolled my eyes, feeling the anger pass over me all over again. "You know what; I think she wanted me to tell you to do the same."

"Nice try Donnie, I aint leavin until Splinter wakes up and we solve this mystery." He put his feet up on the couch and opened his can.

"Or…" Raph nonchalantly walked over to the sofa and grabbed Casey's feet. With the smallest motion, he managed to pull his 170 pound body off the couch and onto the floor. "Yah can leave and we'll call and let yah know." He crouched down over Casey's body and took the soda from his hand. "Bye."

"You think you're better than me?" Casey taunted. Great, I could see where this was going.

"No, I _know _I am." Raph slapped his cheek and stood up. "Now get outta here."

"Fine, but yah better call as soon as yah find out." He stood up off the ground and reclaimed his drink. "This isn't over by the way." Casey slowly made his way to the door and out the lair. When he left it was like a million pounds were instantly lifted off my shoulders and thrown away.

"Listen…" Raph held a hand to the side of his head and smiled. "It's quiet."

"What unfathomable phenomenon is this?!" I laughed along but stopped once Raph just looked at me and frowned. "What?"

"It aint funny when yah use big words Donnie boy." He grinned and walked out of the living room.

"Why do my sons not get along?"

"Splinter!" Raph ran back over to the couch and pushed me out of the way. "Splinter are yah alright?! What happened?! How much of that conversation did you hear?"

"Geeze Raph let him breath!" I pushed him back out of the way and grabbed ahold of our Sensei's hand. "Master Splinter…"

"I am fine. Collect your brother; there is a lot of explaining to do."


	7. Chapter 7

: Chapter 7: **(Splinter's POV)**

"My sons please sit down." I watched as my three, terribly confused students sat in a circle in front of me. I dimed the lights and brought out a small tray of candles, along with the blue bandana I had kept away in a secret place for all these years. Michelangelo looked the most afraid and sadly I would not be able to comfort him. After I would tell them this story, I would expect them to ignore me for the days to come. I placed the candles in a small circle and put the bandana in the middle of them. When I looked to Raphael, he looked as though he had an idea what was going on.

"In the last day, you two have encountered a specific Foot ninja of interest." I pointed to Donatello and Raphael. "I want to confirm your suspicion's by saying this warrior is indeed one to talk about. I do not know his current tag, but to me, he will always be known as Leonardo." I felt my son's body's shift awkwardly as I began to speak.

"Who is he…?" Raphael looked to me with anger and hatred in his heart.

"15 years ago, I told you I found three baby turtles crawling through mounds of glowing, green ooze. My sons, I am sorry to say this was not true. There were not three, but four turtles." I began.

"I knew it." Raphael clenched his head with his hands and stood up from the circle. "I frickin knew it!"

"Raphael please! Sit down and let me explain!" I pleaded with him.

"How could you keep something like that from us?!" He cried out.

"Raph just let him explain!" Donatello stood up and grabbed ahold of his brother. He quickly shoved him away and sat back down. His brother shook his head and then rejoined us. My youngest son had his knees tucked to his chest and his hand close to his mouth. Raphael, after seeing his brother in a great deal of stress, put an arm around his back and pulled him close.

"I, without hesitation, brought you all back to my den and cared for you like you were my own. Once we all began to walk and talk, I found us a new home, here. I gave you all names too, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello and Leonardo." I sighed and starred at the blue bandana. "One night, about 2 years later, I took the family out for a walk through the sewers. To my horror, the Shredder had somehow found our location and intercepted us. I battled as many of his Foot ninja as I could but I was no match to their sheer size in numbers. I failed and while I was being held helplessly against my will, the Shredder took Leonardo and fled." I paused for a moment to let my words sink into their memories and digest in their hearts. I checked each of their faces to try and figure out what they were thinking. Michelangelo had his head buried in the crook of Raphael's arm and his body appeared to be shaking slightly in the dim light. Donatello's eyes were completely fixed on the glowing embers of the candles and his expression was bare. Raphael too, he was also pulled into the fires trance but something else was burning inside him.

"Once Casey Jones told me of a mutant turtle under the Foot's control, I immediately believed that this character must be my lost son." I frowned and awaited all the questions that were sure to follow.

"Why didn't yah tell us?! We could have saved him before the influence of the Shredder had an impact on him!" Raphael tightened his grip on his little brother. "Any sisters that yah wanna tell us about?!"

"Raph…" Donatello silenced him.

"After searching for almost 2 months I finally gave up. I believed he was still alive because I could feel his soul burning inside me, just like I could feel all yours. I gave up because I was not going to worry my three infant sons and abandon them in order to find the fourth. I gave up because your training was more important to me than trying to chase a lost shadow that never seemed to show itself."

Donatello lifted his head up and looked me in the eyes. "We have a brother…we have another brother and he's in control of the Foot! We have to get him out of there!"

"Donatello, I admire you perseverance but you must remember something. Leonardo was raised and trained in the name of the Shredder for 15 years. He does not know he is related to any of you and see's you as a common enemy. Convincing him that he is your brother is like convincing you that you are not mutants"

"But we _are _mutants." Michelangelo finally spoke.

"Exactly my son." I responded. "He believes he is truly the son of the Shredder, adopted by his hand just like he did with his sister Karai."

"Karai aint his sister…" Raphael grumbled under his breath.

"He does not know that." I tried to explain.

"I understand Sensei. I understand what he must be thinking." Donatello nodded. "We have to figure out a way to bring him back to use completely."

"But even if we do, we won't ever be the same again." Michelangelo sniffled and rubbed his hand over his eyes that were wet with tears.

"It won't be easy, but I think he knows what he's doing is wrong. Trust me, I can see it in him." Raphael stated.

"What? Did you have a heart to heart chat with him or something?" Donatello asked.

"No, but I did run into him a second time. He was trying to get aboard a foreign trade ship but Casey and I stopped him before he could." He sighed at the memory. "We made small talk but he got away before we could catch him. He _may_ have tried to crush us with crate boxes in the process but at least we made progress."

"I believe that since I had raised him for a few years in the act of good, he may find it in his heart to turn away from evil. Getting him to believe that you are his long lost brothers however, is a whole different story." I stood up from the circle and blew out the candles. I made my way to the wall and turned the lights back on. "If you will excuse me, I must meditate and allow my thoughts to collect in my mind. I insist that you all do the same."

**:: (Don's POV)**

"This bites…" Mikey kicked a large stone off the roof of the building we were perching on. "I've never even met the guy and all of a sudden I feel…different." He shivered. "What's he like? You guys met him right? Or at least got beat up by him…"

"No Mikey,_ I_ got beat up by him." I said and continued to look through my binoculars at the building across the street. "When I first saw him I had no idea he was even a mutant. His whole body was covered by a suit and his eyes were glowing a creepy red color."

"Well…that's pleasant. I'll be able to sleep better at night knowing that." He shivered again. "Is he nice?"

"Didn't I just get done telling you he beat me up?!" I lowered the binoculars and shot him a look.

"Maybe it was out of love? OW!" Someone had slapped him in the back of the head.

"Yeah, and so was that." Raph grinned.

"Guys, be quiet." I ordered them.

"I don't even get it why we're sitting here anyway. If Leo works for the Foot then he's probably out and about, not lounging at home in the Foot building." Raph sighed and took the binoculars form my hands. "Besides, the longer we sit here the better chance we have of gettin spotted."

"Well if you two would shut the hell up we wouldn't get spotted!"

"Uh guys…" Mikey said in the background.

"Whose bein loud now fearless?!" Raph poked the middle of my plastron and leaned in close to my face. "How about we do what I want for once and go out searchin instead of sittin here lookin pretty?!"

"Fine, you two can go home then and I'll find him myself!" I tried my best to keep my voice low but that obviously wasn't happening.

"Guys…" He said again.

"You know what…I think I will! Who needs yah anyway!"

"GUYS!"

"WHAT!" We both yelled at the same time. Mikey gulped hard and pointed behind us. We looked at each other and then slowly turned our heads around. "Oh…" I said.

"…Crud" Raph finished. "For the record, this is yah fault Donnie." Raph pulled out his Sais while I pulled out my staff.

"Well well well, looks like we have ourselves some intruders." A big, tall man with his blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail had his huge arms crossed over his chest. A purple dragon tattoo was crawling down the side of his face and finally ended at the bottom of his neck.

"Hun." I growled and pointed the tip off my weapon in his direction.

"I must say, usually we are the ones hunting you out, not the other way around." Hun chuckled and jumped down onto our roof, making the gravel shake violently. "You have no reason to be here but since I haven't killed anyone in a few days, I'll allow it." Hun reached behind him and pulled out a long, metal chain with a large, stone ball at the end of it.

"So is this what the Shredder has yah doin now, perimeter patrol?" Raph grinned.

"How dare you even say his name out of your despicable mutant mouths! The Shredder is all powerful and under his name I will destroy you!" Hun lifted the chain into the air and began to spin it around above his head.

"God, why can't we ever just get a break?" Mikey said and pulled his Nun-Chucks from out of his belt. "Why don't we just ditch him?"

"Because Mikey, Hun works for the Shredder, and so does Leo."

"Yah think Hun knows where to find him?" Raph whispered to me.

"Yes, I do. But getting him to talk won't be easy."

"Give me five minutes and I'll make him sing." Raph growled with a smile and then leaped into the air. He landed on the ball and then leaped off of it, sending it crashing to the ground. It got stuck in the pavement of the roof, trapping Hun along with it who refused to let go. He pulled as hard as he could but it wouldn't budge which gave Mikey and I enough time to race towards him and attacked him from behind.

"Eat my turtle dust!" Mike shot his leg out and landed a kick right in the back of Hun's neck. His huge body flipped over the ball and then landed on its back. I leapt into the air and went to kick him in the chest to finish him off but he managed to grab ahold of my leg and swing me as hard as he could onto the hard ground. My body shook as I tried to get up and I could hear my brothers calling my name to see if I was alright. I collapsed back onto the ground but held a hand in the air to tell them I was fine.

"Alright, no more messin around!" When I was able to roll over onto my shell, I could see Raphael had sheathed his Sai's and gone into hand to hand combat. Hun was off the ground and surprisingly, defending Raph's punches rather than dishing his own.

"Mikey now!" He called out. Suddenly, our little brother grabbed ahold of the chain that was stuck in the ground, and ran across the roof. Raph was able to back Hun up just enough so that he tripped over it and once again, was on the ground. Mikey then jumped over top of Hun's body and used the chain to tie him tightly to the roof and secure his arms down at his sides.

"Piece of cake." He dusted off his hands and smiled down at the defeated dragon.

"Fools! I can never be defeated!" Hun cried out while struggling to break free.

"Funny, then why are you lying on the ground helplessly as we stand over you and smile with delight?" Mike crossed his arms over his chest and grinned.

"Alright Hun, we want some answers and we want em now." Raph pulled out a Sai and knelt down next to Hun. He held it to his neck, making the giant swallow hard and emit beams of sweat from his forehead.

"What information could I possibly have that you want?!" He yelled while keeping a close eye on the weapon near his throat.

"We're looking for somebody. He goes by the name Leonardo." I said.

"I know no one under that name!"

"Then maybe you know him under a different name." Raph pulled the blades closer to his neck and started to dig the tip of it through his skin. "He's a mutant turtle, like us."

"Ha! You speak of Shredder's prized warrior and my most hated enemy, Erasmus. He's the reason I'm stuck here battling fools like you who try to infiltrate the Shredders lair!" Hun growled and tried again to break free but had no such luck.

"Alright, where is this "Erasmus"" I asked.

"You think I'm going to tell you that?!" He chuckled but then winced once Raph kept pressing forward with his Sai.

"I thought you hated him? Don't you want us to destroy him for you?" Mikey grinned malevolently and rubbed his hands together.

"Wait, you're here to kill Erasmus?" Hun suddenly looked interested in our proposal and grinned.

"Yup, and we're bringing his head back to our Sensei to mount above our evil fireplace of doom!" I shook my head at Mikey's remark.

"Erasmus and Karai are running an errand for the Shredder. I would be most please if you mutant freaks took them _both_ out in the process."

"Maybe we can strike a deal if yah tell us where they are." Raph slowly removed his weapon out of Hun's skin, making a small river of blood rush out onto the ground.

"They're at the Chrysler building retrieving weapons from a street gang known as the "Highflyers." You can find them there along with a dozen or so Foot ninja."

Raph looked at me for consultation but I was hesitant to give him an answer. I knew my brothers and I could easily take out the Foot ninja, but with Karai and Erasmus in the picture, it could spell disaster in the end on our part. I looked at Mikey and he gave me a small nod and was ready to go after them. I sighed and looked back at Raphael and nodded. There was a good chance Hun could be lying and sending us into a trap but, I always had a plan for that sort of thing.

"Alright Hun, we'll go and deal with Erasmus and Karai. But to make sure you're telling the truth, we'll free you when we get back." I shot him a wink and then ran to the edge of the roof and jumped off.

"WHAT! I am telling you the truth! Let me go you insignificant slime!" I heard Hun yell.

"Smell yah later!" Michelangelo made a clicking sound with his tongue and then followed my lead along with Raphael who looked more than pleased with my decision to peruse the Foot ninja.

"You can't do this! I will destroy you and use your shells for…for…!" Hun screamed as loud as he could but then lowered his voice to a soft whine. "God, I hate my job."

**Since you guys are so awesome, no cliffhanger this time lol. I'm really bad at fight scenes but hopefully I'll get better at them. Also, I'm glad you guys are happy with the rate of updates and thank you for letting me know so. I'll **_**try **_**and make the chapters a few hundred words longer but 2,500 is just the right amount for me so I can keep it interesting and leave off at a good spot for the next one. See you at Chapter 8!**


	8. Chapter 8

: Chapter 8: **(Erasmus's POV)**

I stood by myself in a lonely, dark corner while I watched my team of worthless foot ninja carry boxes upon boxes of weapons and supplies into an open elevator that led out of the open warehouse of the Chrysler Building. The gang leader that was selling us the materials was a lesser known yet extremely horrifying looking man known only to me as: "the guy who was selling us the weapons." He proudly accepted a black brief case from Karai that was overflowing with crisp, green bills.

"Nice doin business with yah." The dark skinned man snickered and quickly opened the case to make sure all the pay was there. Once he was satisfied, he closed it and handed it off to one of his henchmen.

"And the other thing we agreed on?" Karai held out her hand. The leader just glared at her palm but then smiled and pulled out something from his back pocket and handed it to her. "Thank you."

Since I was bad at minding my own business, I strolled over to Karai after the gang and their lead walked away. "Doing something you're not supposed to Karai?" I grinned and grabbed her wrist. After forcefully pressing down on a vital pressure point, her fingers unclench and a small silver object fell to the floor. "What is that?"

"That is none of your concern Erasmus!" She bent down and swiped it up. "The Shredder wanted me to buy this for him, but I do not know what it is." She twisted it around in her fingers and examined the small gadget.

"It looks like a lighter or something." I guessed.

"No matter, it is for the Shredder and that's all that we need to know." She tucked it away in her breast pocket and walked away. I growled in frustration and trotted over to her and walked at the pace she was keeping.

"Why would the Shredder buy something and keep it from us and everyone else? Doesn't that seem a little odd to you?" I proposed.

"Erasmus, you are a fool. We do not need to know all of Shredder's plans and doings."

"But…" I stopped walking and sighed. "Why do I get the feeling Shredder doesn't trust us anymore?" I said to myself. I lifted my head towards the door and watched the last of the boxes get carried out through the elevator.

"Erasmus, we have everything, let's go." Karai waved me towards her.

"When did you start dishing orders?"

"Fine, stay here." She cocked her head and started to head towards the elevator but stopped once a terrible rumbling sound started to come for above ground. "Erasmus…what is that?!" The ground started to shake and then moments later, the elevator came crashing to the ground making Karai and I jump back in order to avoid flying debris. All around, pieces of the steel elevator were shot in different directions and some even became lodged into some of our gang member's body's. After the dust settled a bit, and the cries of the wounded began to emerge, I could see weapons were lying out on the floor along with a couple of our unlucky Foot ninja.

I tried to cough the dust out of my lungs while making my way over to the last place I had seen Karai before the crash. I knelt down over a black object and picked it up over my shoulder.

"Karai, this better be you and not a Foot ninja." I coughed again, hacking up nothing but brown smoke.

"Erasmus, what happened?" She responded with a faint voice.

"I don't know but we're getting out of here." I maneuvered around the fallen debris and bodies to try and find an exit but then it struck me that our only exit was the open elevator that had just went crashing to the ground only moments ago. I walked along the perimeter to try and find some hidden door or something but there was no other way out.

By now, most of the smoke had settled onto the floor, making it easier for me to see my surroundings. I looked up where metal beams and wooden boards were leading up to the first floor A.K.A our way out.

"Hold on Karai." I tighten my grip on her back and ran as fast as I could up the pile of elevator remains until I could reach the first beam. I had to let go of her body in order to pull the both of us up onto it but even then I still wasn't able to make it up far enough and my hands slipped from all the dust that had settled on the metal structure. I lost my grip and both our bodies went crashing 20 feet to the ground.

"Argh!" Karai called out as she hit the floor. "Erasmus!"

I rolled a few yards away and finally stopped once I hit something soft. I got up on my hands and knees and looked at the two green feet that were standing underneath me. I gasped and jumped away as fast as I could and faced the only other person in the world that I knew who had two green feet.

"Raphael…" I sounded shocked. "And friends." There were two other mutants standing on either side of him who were almost identical in appearance except for their different shades of skin and bandanas.

"What is this the third time?" He grinned.

"What? You mean the third time you snooped around in other people's business?" I opened my arms and smirked.

"I like him already." The one with the orange bandana gave a cheeky smile.

"I've had about enough of your interference Raphael. I should have just finished you on the docks when I had the chance!" I reached behind my back and pulled out my brand new Katana's that stockman personally forged for me, under Shredder's command of course.

"We need to talk." He stepped forward but motioned his two friends to stay behind. I recoiled back; surprised that he wasn't here to fight me like I had hoped for. I was really in the mood for some revenge on this guy who always seemed to find me at the greatest times.

"So you had to crash an elevator on my head in order to do so?!"

"How else were we supposed to get your attention?" Raph turned around and pointed to the tall, olive green skinned turtle who was waving a pair of pliers in his hand. "Now, just put the swords down and listen."

"Excuse me? If I'm putting them down anywhere it's going to be between your thick skull." I pointed the tip of my blade towards his face but he kept walking forward.

"Oh boy, another Raphael that's just what we needed." The smaller turtle slapped his forehead with his hand.

"What?" I slightly lowered my swords to the ground and glared at the orange clad mutant.

"Yah seriously haven't figured it out by now?" Raph popped a hip.

"No, please enlighten me." I said in a sarcastic tone.

"We can't talk here. Follow us." Raph turned around and started to walk towards the others. They ran as fast as they could and ran up on of the warehouse walls. Using the beams like tree branches, they jumped and flipped back up to the first floor.

"Erasmus…" A voice from behind me spoke. "Help me!"

I looked at her, then at the turtles who were waiting impatiently for me. I couldn't believe I was actually debating whether or not to follow those vigilantes but something inside of me was telling me I should.

"Erasmus! Do not go with them! They are the enemy!" She reached her hand up to me from down on the ground. I went to help her up but once again I got a strange feeling in my gut that I should leave her and join the other mutants. "Erasmus!" She screamed.

"I…I…" My head started to spin as both parties seemed to be yelling right in my ears about who I should go with. I grabbed ahold of my head and dug my fingers underneath my bandana and growled from the pain.

"I'm sorry. I'm really going to regret this." My legs seemed to move on their own as I ran towards the wall and jumped up on the metal beams that led to the top. As I climbed, Karai's screams pounded my eardrums and her threats of violent actions against me ceased to end until I was out of the warehouse and in the open air. I fell onto the cement floor on my hands and knees in order keep myself from passing out as I gulped in huge amounts of brisk City air.

"Wow dude, you get anxiety attacks often?" One of them snickered.

"This had better be good." I said in a low, threatening voice. "And after your done talking, I'll shut you all up forever." I slowly stood up off the ground and sheathed my swords.

"You were right Raph…"The tall one with the purple bandana said. "If this wasn't Leonardo then Splinter's influence wouldn't have convinced him to come up here and talk with us."

"Congratz Bro! You passed the first test!" The small turtle grabbed ahold of my arm.

"Don't touch me!" I pulled away from him. "You have no right to even be in my presence!"

"Oh yeah, he was raised by the Shredder alright." He chuckled.

"Now, what do you want?!" I turned around and planted my hands on Raphael's plastron. I slammed him against the first wall I could find and pushed my face close to his. He growled and then pushed me away with one of his knees and sent me staggering backwards.

"I told yah we can't talk here!" He yelled.

"It's either here or nowhere!" I yelled back. He dimmed his expression and looked at the two turtles behind me. After a few seconds, he sighed and smiled.

"Fine. Have it your way."

I was so focused on Raphael's devious smile that I failed to sense that the other mutants were lurking behind me. My vision suddenly became engulfed with darkness and I could feel my hands being forcefully pulled behind my back. A final blow to the side of my head stopped my struggling so that I was simply lying there until my head stopped spinning and everything seemed to fade away.

**:: (Don's POV)**

"I DIDN'T MEAN PUNCH HIM!" Raph slapped his hand against his forehead and started to pace around the body lying on the ground with a bag over its head.

"What else was I ganna do? Let him scream and draw attention to us?!" My heart was pounding as I stared down at Erasmus lying on the ground. "I'm sorry that was quite a rash action."

"Yah think!" Raph exploded.

"Look on the bright side guys, now he can't kill us." Mike smiled. I grabbed Raphael's arm before he could lunge for our little brother and rip him to shreds.

"Look, we need to think this through!" I let him go once he stopped struggling and got ahold of himself. "Cutting the elevator was a bad idea on my part. We should have just waited for him to be alone and then tried to talk to him."

"Well what's done is done. Now what are we ganna do? He's out cold and by the sounds of it he aint willin to listen to us." Raph mumbled and started to pace again.

"Let's think for a minute ok. We know this is definitely Leonardo because he followed us. No other Foot would have done that unless they had a sense of right and wrong. The only problem is that Erasmus seems to be a very…uh…physical kind of person." I tried to explain but found myself failing miserably.

"Alright, kicks and punches it is." Raph grinned.

"No! That's not what I meant. If we want to convince him that we're his brothers, we're going to have to _show _him not just tell him." I said.

"We could have a big group hug!" Mikey bounced up and down but stopped once Raphael balled up his fist.

"No, we could bring him back to places that he may have seen _before _he got abducted." I welcomed the idea.

"That was 15 years ago Donnie. Where could we possibly take him that would do that?" Raph crouched on the ground and rubbed the top of his head.

"If we want to trigger his memory, I say we take him back to the lair. Not our current one, but the old one we were at before Splinter moved us."

"Splinter moved us?" Mike and Raph said at the same time.

"Uh yeah, I spoke a little bit more with Splinter so I could find out as much information as I could before we set out trying to find Leo. Turns out,_ he_ was supposed to be the leader of us if he hadn't been, you know."

"Man, he would have made a terrible leader. He's so violent!" Mikey shrieked.

"Remember, he was raised by the Shredder. Violence is probably the only thing he's ever heard or thought of."

"I wonder how many people he's killed…" Raph pondered out loud. He nodded his head up and down then looked at Mikey and I who had our jaws dropped. "What?! That was a legitimate question!"

"So anyway!" Mikey began. "Do you think we could maybe take him out and show him what it's like be good?"

"I don't know. We almost went through World War 3 trying to get him to even follow us. But no one said this would be easy. I say we try to trigger his memory first and if that works, I think we could do something like that. Maybe introduce him to April and Casey when the time is right." I smiled with the hopes that our newest family member (in terms) could eventually be with us once again, just like he had been 15 years ago.

**Sorry this chapter was a little slow but I needed to make sure I had all the information correct and that you guys know what the plan was for the turtles. You guys give the sweetest reviews and they make me so happy when I see that you like the story! You can post criticism if you want too, I need it!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Raph narrates this first section but I'm going to only use his accent in his dialogue because I don't want it to interrupt the flow of the story. I'll still use "yah" instead of "you" but I won't do say "count**_**in**_**" instead of "count**_**ing**_**" because it will ruin the narration and….yeah I just made that sound really complicated but you get the idea lol. ON WITH THE SHOW. This show...BTW…is 1,000 words longer!**

: Chapter 9: **(Raph's POV)**

What do yah get when you cross Donatello and a really stupid idea? You guessed it, Erasmus unconscious, on the floor of the sewers. We just finished lugging his 180 pound body all the way down here just because Donatello had this bright idea of letting him wake up to where this all began, in the dark, smelly sewers at the exact cross section where the Shredder beat the snot out of Master Splinter.

"Holy crap he's fat! I'm ganna go die now." MIkey dropped Erasmus's legs and collapsed into the green tinted water. "Alright Don, knocking him out wasn't one of your brightest ideas."

"I panicked ok! JUST LET IT GO!" Don crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. Yes, our all-powerful, fearless leader was pouting. "I have a better plan to make up for it though. When he first wakes up…"

"If he doesn't kill us…" Mike frowned and bit his lip.

"When he first wakes up, and doesn't kill us, we will hide in these cross tunnels and let him do the rest."

"Oh so you mean let him escape?" I sassed him. I swear, Don had most of the time had really good idea's but today, he was just out of it.

"No, I'm going to run back to the lair and grab a few things. You guys stay here and guard the…body." He nodded at us.

"Wait! What if he wakes up and kills us?!" Mikey cried out.

"If he's killin anyone its ganna be you bonehead." I chuckled. "Don't worry, I think Don hit him hard enough that he'll be out till next Christmas."

"Oh you're so funny Raphael. Stay here, I'll be right back." Don took off down one of the tunnels, leaving Mikey and I alone in the darkness of the sewers.

"You think we should take the bag off his head?" Mikey asked.

"No, we don't want him waking up and passing out again once he sees your hideous face."

"If I was allowed to swear I would be showering you with curses!" He pointed a big, ugly green finger in my face. "But I won't…because I'm an angel."

"Shutup and guard the body." I ordered him.

"Oh what's it ganna do? Get up and walk away? He's out cold Raph!" Just then, Erasmus moaned and started to shift positions making Mikey squeal as loud as he could and send his creams of terror echoing all throughout the sewers.

"MIKEY!" I drop kicked him into the water and stood over his trembling body. "Would yah shut the hell up for 5 seconds!"

"Don really needs to hurry! I don't wanna be Foot food!"

About 5 minutes later, Don finally came back into the small dome shaped room we were in with his large, brown duffel bag that he carries around all the time.

"Alright, Raph, put these on him." He chucked a pair of metal handcuffs over to me. As much as I wanted to ask what they were, I was desperate to get our Foot brother under control before he woke up and caused harm to us, or even himself. I pulled off the rope that we had tied to his hands and replaced them with the chilled cuffs. They made a few clicking noises and then a tiny bit of blood started to fall down his hands.

"Don what are these things?" I couldn't help but ask, sorry.

"They're ganna let me send an electrical current through his body if he tries to escape. Those needles that just went into his wrist will help it feel more real, that way he doesn't resist as much." He responded.

"Someone needs to stop watching midnight horror films." Mike snickered.

"Alright, I talked a bit with Splinter again before I came back. He said the best way to help Eras…Leonardo remember his past, is if he learns it on his own. See those scratch marks on the wall?" He pointed behind himself where four gashes were running across the brick tiles. "Those are Splinters marks from his battle with the Shredder. If we can give him some hints as to where he is but not tell him _exactly _where he is, maybe we could get his memory to start kicking in more efficiently." Don ripped the back off Erasmus head and put it into his bag. For a moment we just stared down at him like a pack of hungry wolves. We examined him, his body structure, his face, even his plastron. "He's definitely mutated form the same canister that mutated us. The patterns on his carapace are almost identical to ours."

"Freaky man." Mikey whispered.

"I got a question. How are we supposed to convince him that what where telling him is the truth? Like yah said, how can we convince him he's from the same canister?" I asked.

"That's for him to figure out on his own. If Splinter is right, and Leo has prior knowledge of us, then hopefully his memory will trigger some kind of reaction that can either help him believe what the Shredder told him was false, or that we're right and he needs to figure out the Shredder is false."

"Dude, my brain hurts." Mikey grasped ahold of his head and started spinning in small circles.

"I hope this works Donnie boy." I took a step back away from them and faded into the shadows of the sewers. "Two failures in a row aint good for you."

**:: (Erasmus's POV)**

"Mikey now, wake him up."

"Leonardo…Leonardo…wakey wakey…ERASMUS!"

My eyes shot open and immediately all of my senses went on high alert as I examined my surroundings. After turning my head around as far as it could go, my eyes finally met with Raphael's. I growled and went to reach for my swords but my hands were stuck behind my back by something cold and metal. My first instincts were to use my arms like a jump rope and pull my chained arms out front of me but when I tried; I received a small electric shock throughout my entire body. I crashed to the ground and splattered water in every direction around me.

"Raph! Let me go and I won't murder you for hitting me in the head!" I maneuvered up out of the shallow water and planted myself on my knees.

"First of all, I didn't hit yah. Second of all, you aint goin nowhere Foot boy." Raph walked over to me and reached his hand behind my back. He lifted me off the ground and planted me on my feet. "I'm askin for ten minutes of your time."

"Ten minutes for what?!" I hissed.

"…to turn your life around." He slowly stepped back into the shadows and disappeared out of my vision. I stood alone in the dark with nothing but the harsh smell of garbage and the small trickle of water that was running across my toes. Suddenly, several bright lights turned on and my location was revealed to me. I was in what looked like the sewers and judging by the smell, they were New York City sewers. I turned around the small circled shaped area where four other tunnels were leading out.

"Where am I?!" I called out but no one answered. "Show yourselves and fight like a true warrior!" Seeing that I was left alone, I tried to make a break out of one of the passages but only to be stopped by a sudden flush of electricity. I staggered back but kept standing. "What do you want from me?!" I looked around to try and find another exit but there was nothing, I was boxed in.

"Stop and think." A soft voice said that I couldn't pinpoint but it sounded like it was coming from one of the tunnels. "What happened here Leo? What happened?"

"Who the hell is Leo and I have no…" My eyes quit wondering and stopped on a small point of interest on the wall. They looked like gash marks but not any that I recognized and they were definitely too small to be the Shredders. I walked towards the wall and got a close look at the indents.

"How am I supposed to know?!" I said to no one in particular.

"Those are claw marks that you're looking at, why are they there?" I heard Raphael's voice come from one of the tunnels.

"Who do I look like Sherlock Holmes?" I sighed when I didn't receive a response. For some reason, I became interested in the gashes and examined them the best I could. Something in the back of my head didn't feel right but I guessed it was just from the crazy blow that knocked me out. "I don't know…a fight or something?"

"Yes, how long ago?" A surfer accent spoke. Dating things was something I was good at so this question I would be able to answer.

"I guess…13, 14 years ago?" I figured from the deepness of the impression. My head started to hurt again in the same spot but I shoved it off and ignored it.

"How about…15?" He responded.

"Alright, so 15 years ago there was a fight here. Am I right so far?" I smiled and decided to go along with Raph's little game. For now…

"Correct! Ding ding ding! Someone give this mutant a prize!" The same person spoke but then squealed after a smacking sound echoed through the tunnels.

"So now what?" I asked.

"Who was there?" The soft voice spoke up again.

"Someone with claws…" The electricity went through my body again but not as intensely as it had been the first two times. "Would you stop that!" Still, it was enough to set me on edge.

"You're thinking with your mind, think with your heart." It said.

"So this is personal for me…" I walked around the small dome and started to look at everything more specifically. "Why can't you just tell me where I am so I can go home already?" I cringed again from the pain that now seemed to be making my stomach become upset.

"Home aint where you think it is Leo." Raph said. "Home aint with the Shredder."

"Then where is home?!" I started to get frustrated but the questions I began asking them seemed to be coming from deep within myself rather then up in my head. I truly wanted to know where I belonged; I knew the Shredder wasn't telling me the whole truth ever since he freaked out when I met Raphael. I knew there must have been some missing information but I wasn't ready to let myself admit it. The pain came again, but this time it was in my upper stomach.

"Home is closer than you think Erasmus."

"Leo, Erasmus, pick one!" I cried out.

"Who was here 15 years ago?" The softer voice began to sound irritated.

"Who was here?!" Raph yelled.

"Who?" The surfer accent demanded.

"I was!" I suddenly said without even thinking. There was complete silence as I stood still and tried to steady my heavy breathing. "I was…" As I began to clear my mind and let everything else except what was happening now, out of my memory, the only thing I was focused on was what was going on in the present. The stomach pain was now directly on my heart and the palms of my hands were drenched with sweat.

What was happening to me? What are these freaks trying to do to me?!

"How do you know…?" The surfer boy spoke.

"Why else would you bring me here?" I responded in a serious tone. "I know the Shredder lied to me! I know my past isn't what he told me it was!" I felt like someone had reached their hand into my plastron and was trying to pull my heart out from the inside. I tried to hold back the cries of pain that began to collect in my throat.

"Good." All at once, three out of four tunnels were now housing three mutant turtles. I crashed onto my knees and let the spray of water drip down my tacky face. "You alright?" Raph patted my shell.

"Who are you people…?"

"That's for us to know, and you to find out." He lifted me up out of the water but I refused to make eye contact with any of them.

"We're obviously related." I said, out of breath.

"Yah?" The little orange guy smiled. "That could be true…because 15 years ago…we were here with you."

"Those your claw marks then?" I asked him with a grin.

"Those are our Sensei's; he made those while trying to defend us from the Shredder." Raph crossed his arms over his chest.

"You just said I was there with you." I wished these freaks would make up their minds, I guess I can't call them freaks anymore since we're distantly related in some way.

"You were." The tall one said.

"The Shredder wouldn't attack me."

"He did 15 years ago."

"Why are you playing mind games with me!" I lunged for him but he pulled out a small remote and pointed it at me. "So you're the one who's trying to fry me?"

"Yes, and as of now I'm quite enjoying it."

I "tskd" and backup away from him. "So we were all here fighting the Shredder."

"Our Sensei was fighting the Shredder." The little lime green turtle held a finger in the air.

"You're mistaken, I already have a Sensei and I'm pretty sure he wasn't fighting himself." I said while watching the purple clad turtle reach into a bag he had slung on his shoulder and pull out a broken glass canister.

"Maybe this will clear things up." He held it up to me so I could look at it. "As of now, everything the Shredder has told you about yourself…is a lie and you know that don't you?"

"How do _you_ know he's lying?!" I spat.

"Because Erasmus, we're your brothers."

I staggered back at his remark. I'll be honest; I was not expecting him to say that _at all_. I know I figured we were related to each other but I was thinking more like distant cousins, not something as close as brothers.

"I don't have any sibling except my step-sister Karai." I could feel myself beginning to be pulled in by his statements, like something in the back of my head was telling me to shut up and believe it. Things I had never seen or thought before began to jump into my head and bounce around like a bullet as his words started to make sense. If everything the Shredder told me was a lie, then I absolutely could have three brothers, but was I ready or even willing to believe that? If what he was saying was true, my entire life could change on an extremely dramatic scale.

"What did I just tell you? Forget everything the Shredder told you and listen to the truth."

"How can I trust you?" My voice dropped to a low pitch.

"Once I tell you you're origin story, you will." He placed the canister on the ground and reached back into his bag and pulled out a small, blue bandana.

"Your name isn't Erasmus, your name is Leonardo and 17 years ago, you, Raph, Mikey and I were all hatched inside a local pet shop."

"So…I wasn't created in a lab?"

"No. We were purchased by a young boy but on his way home, there was an accident. A truck carrying radioactive material, A.K.A ooze, collided with another car and spilt these canisters all over the place. The boy who was carrying us home was nearly killed in the struggle and dropped us down a grate when someone pushed him out of the way of the vehicles path. Down we went into the sewers along with the remains of the broken canisters of ooze and the terrible compounds they carried inside them." I could see he was the smart one of this family considering no one else stepped in to share information.

So everything you just heard him say was my whole birth story and somehow, deep in my heart, I knew it was true which baffled me greatly. What was even more bizarre was I actually remembered, my thoughts were fuzzy and unorganized, but a small picture was forming in my mind. I could remember dumb parts but they were completely insignificant. I remembered things like the truck that was carrying the ooze was labeled TCRI. Still, my mind refused to believe it even when my aching heart (literally) was telling me something else.

"We were rescued by a generous rat who adopted us into his family. Do you think you know what his name is?" He asked me.

"I…I don't know. What you're saying makes since but that doesn't explain why I have no idea who you guys are."

"Why do yah think we're here?" Raph opened his arms and gestured to the dome. "Two years later splinter took the four of us out for a stroll through these exact sewers. Shredder met us halfway and Splinter risked his life to keep us safe. Unfortunately, he not only lost his honor in the process, but lost you too." Raph growled.

"The Shredder abducted me?"

"Yup, and he renamed you in order to keep your from every knowing we existed." The one known as "Mikey" frowned. "Well, that's what we think anyway."

"Then what took you guys so long to find me?!"

"We didn't know yah existed until two days ago bonehead." Raph hit me in the back of my head, making me twitch and find the need to smack him back if it weren't for my cuffed hands.

"So…do you believe us?" Mikey put his hands up to his chin and walked over to me with his head pulled back.

"Part of me wants to believe it, but the other part of me wants to rip all your heads off." I grinned.

"Well, at least we're making _some_ progress." The tall one sighed.

"So if you three are my brothers, I guess I'm entitled to some names and ages." I smiled. "I'll go first. I'm Erasmus and I really don't want to call myself Leonardo since I'm still on the fence about all this. I'm 18 years old and…I'll leave my criminal record out of the equation."

Raph looked surprised yet extremely pleased. "I'd like to hear it sometime. I'm Raphael, yah already know me as the one who kicked your sorry shell, twice." He grinned. "I'm 18 too and everyone calls me the temperamental one although I have no idea why."

"Oh yeah we have nooo idea why. I'm Michelangelo! But everyone calls me Mikey for short mainly because no one knows how to spell my name correctly so they just call me Mikey, or Mike if you're really lazy." He jumped up and down with a grin on his face. "I think I'm 17...but I never keep track so who cares!"

"You must be the talkative one?"

"You kiddin? I'm the life of the party!" He clapped his hands together, making Raphael growl and roll his eyes.

"I'm Donatello, I was supposed to be the leader of this team but now that your here…I can go back to being the smart one again." His cheeks turned a bright red.

"Wo wo, I'm a one man show here."

"Oh yeah, and how did that work out for yah?" Raph leaned his elbow on my shoulder. "You're I handcuffs and being held against your will."

"You don't have to lead yet, but once we prove to you who we are, hopefully you'll understand." Don smiled.

"Wait, you're not expecting me to_ join_ you are you?" I asked. "You're my enemy! You kidnapped me for crying out loud!"

"Let's see if we can change your mind about the Shredder." Don put the glass canister back in his bag along with the blue bandana. "Let's take a little field trip shall we?"

"Fine, but could you at least unhand cuff me? I feel too vulnerable in these things." I wiggled my wrists around.

"We'll unhand cuff you once we can trust you." Don smiled but then suddenly looked to Raphael with questioning eyes. "Why do I feel like I've said that before?"


	10. Chapter 10

**I apologize for the late chapter. I had a really busy day yesterday and by the time I was done I went right to bed since I was so exhausted. Here it is though! **

: Chapter 10: **(Third Person POV)**

The Shredder's lair was quiet; the Foot ninja had all retreated to their bunkers for the night but voices could be heard coming from within the Shredder's meditation room. Karai had arrived and the look on her face is what made the ninja's retreat. She brought abhorrent news and they knew what would happen when she would tell her master. They lay on their mats with pillows over their heads as the Shredder's voice grew louder and louder throughout the evening.

"Stockman!" Shredder pressed a button on his gauntlet and then screamed into the small microphone that popped out. "Summon Hun to me immediately!"

"But sir…Hun has been missing for the last seven hours, we have no idea where he is." The microphone responded. "Good riddance."

"Then find him! Send out the Foot ninja to search!"

"Right away Master Shredder."

"Karai…when Hun arrives you will tell him exactly what you told me. It's about time I told you two the whole story behind my "son" Erasmus. I normally would not share this kind of information with that low life barbarian, but I need the extra eyes and ears out in the city." Shredder held out his hand to Karai. "Do you have the object I asked you to pick up?"

"Yes Master." Karai reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small, silver object and placed it into his hand.

"Excellent work Karai. I'm glad I still have one student I can trust."

About a half hour later, Hun walked through the large, red doors that led to the Shredder's meditation room. His skin was all dirty and half his clothes were missing from his body.

"Hun…what happened to you?" Shredder asked in a startled tone.

"Those mutant freaks tied me to the roof and ran off!" Hun balled up his fist and raised it in the air.

"Interesting, then I suppose you are the one who led them straight to our location!" Karai leaned towards him and growled under her breath.

"What? I did no such thing Karai." He smirked at her.

"Enough! There are more important things to worry about than Huns normal behavior!" Shredder stepped between the two of them and pushed them away from each other. "He will be punished later for he is the reason Erasmus is not here! But, my son's behaviors have been much obscured lately and we would have to have had this talk eventually. Karai…proceed."

"After acquiring all our shipments from the highflyers, the elevator to the Chrysler building went crashing down on our heads! Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo convinced Erasmus to join them above ground after his failed attempts to get us both out of the building. To my horror, he chose those fools over me and followed them! After I recovered from the crash, I went outside and saw they were all gone. Nothing but a few blood stains and scuffle marks were left on the ground." Karai finished and stood with her arms crossed.

"Why would those freaks be interested in that freak?" Hun said in an interested tone.

"Because, Erasmus is related to them. They are all brothers." Karai said.

"WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me this master?!" Hun's jaw dropped.

"Because Hun, I did not need you to know at the time! Things are different now; we believe the turtles kidnapped him from the warehouse. I do not know how they came to discover of his existence but I have my suspicions regarding their mutant rat of a Sensei. One of my Foot ninja, who accompanied Erasmus on a foreign trade ship heist, said he saw Erasmus talking to Raphael instead of fighting him. The evidence is clear and by now, the turtles will have tried to get Erasmus to believe he is one of them!" Shredder swiped his gauntlet over Hun's head in an outrage.

"For 15 years I raised him as my son. I told him he was made in a scientific laboratory and mutated with turtle DNA. I got him to believe that he was the only one of his kind and nothing more. I knew someday he would figure out he wasn't alone in this messed up universe, but it came too soon. The sons of the rat known as Splinter have come to find out about their lost brother sooner than I had hoped. My plan was to eliminate them before that could happen but I greatly underestimated their abilities and knowledge!" Shredder yelled. "Erasmus is my best warrior; he has accomplished things I could never imagine could be done. Ultimately, if he finds out about my past, my betrayal and my kidnapping of him from his family, he will surely come back and destroy me given enough time!"

"So you think that Erasmus will all of sudden lose his loyalty to you?" Hun questioned.

"No, I believe that if the turtles have enough information against us, they can eventually get Erasmus to _second guess_ his loyalty towards me. I have trained him too well, he has everything he needs in order to defeat me and I regret those teachings to this day! Erasmus must be killed! This is why I had you retrieve that object for me Karai. I knew this would happen the moment you spoke of him meeting Raphael."

Karai gasped and held her hand to her mouth at Shredder's remark. She quickly wiped her hands across her face to get rid of the tears that were starting to swell in her eyes. "But Master! Can't you at least give him some time before you decide upon such rash actions? He is confused that's all! Please, give me some time and maybe I can get him to come back." Karai pleaded.

The Shredder lifted up his head and pondered at her statement. "Alright Karai, you have 3 days and by that time his brothers must be destroyed and Erasmus must be returned and ready to serve me again."

"Perhaps we could get Stockman to build some sort of memory device that could wipe his memory of them." Hun suggested.

"Don't you think I've tried that already you insignificant fool!" Shredder yelled. "Karai get going the clock is ticking. Hun, get your men out in the City. I want all corners of this pathetic island under surveillance until Karai either succeeds or fails her mission."

"I will get him to come back, even if it means destroying his family in the process." Karai bowed to her Master.

"Be careful Karai, do not slay them at the wrong time or you may do more harm than you think." Shredder warned her. "Take time to observe and come up with a suitable plan. I do not want to see Erasmus have to die because of dumb decisions you make." With that, the Shredder turned on his heels and walked out of the room leaving nothing but an awkward atmosphere and a couple of dried tears on the floor.

**:: (Don's POV)**

Our old lair for some reason wasn't as hard to find as Master Splinter said it would be. It was like we could _feel _where it was and pinpoint its exact location in under half an hour. All we had to do was walk through the sewers, take a few awkward turns and then BOOM, there it was, right out in the open. It was definitely uninhabitable however. Besides being incredibly small, the brick walls and cement ceilings were beginning to cave in and were field with mold and decay.

"Well this is depressing." Mikey sighed. "I was expecting something more, you know, fun."

"This lair is probably over 100 years old by the looks of it. Splinter must have found the place when it was already in bad shape. Now it's just falling apart like any other man made structure would." I ran my fingers across the tiles and examined them. This place was giving me the creeps and not only because the ceiling looked like it was about to fall on our heads. "Just keep your voices down; we wouldn't want to start an avalanche."

Raph shot me a look and shook his head. It took me a minute to figure out what his problem was but once I realized that I just gave Erasmus a way to kill us, I wanted to slap myself for the third time I've made another stupid decision.

"I mean you know it would take a lot of noise of course…but technically speaking…"

"Don…" Raph shot me a look.

"I'm just ganna…see what Mikey's up to then." I slowly turned around and joined my little brother at the end of the room.

"So what do you think?" I asked him.

"I feel weird." He admitted. I didn't want to say it but this lair was stirring something weird in my stomach as well. I guessed it was the fact that this was the last place we _all_ were together as a family until the world went to hell, in our lives at least. "Do you think Leo believes us yet?"

"I don't know Mikey." I looked back at Raph who had his hands on the cuffs behind Erasmus back as they slowly walked around the lair and examined it. "He's a Foot ninja. I think 15 years of training under the Shredder can harden you up a bit. I know Raph probably wants to let him loose, but I don't trust him just yet."

"Oh…" Mikey dropped his head.

"It's alright; it'll all work out in the end." I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and comforted him the best I could. I was actually quite surprised to see him this upset over the matter. Usually he was the "I don't give two *insert choice word here*" kind of guy, but this really seemed to be upsetting him.

"You think he wants to kill us?" He asked with a saddened expression. I sighed and hesitated. That was a question I knew the answer to but didn't want to say because I knew it would make him upset.

"I'm sure he doesn't like us…" Was all I could get out.

"So he wants to kill us…"

"I don't know Mikey. I can't read his mind. All we can do is be ready and treat him like a threat. If we get too soft, it could come back and bite us in the butt. He's a Foot ninja; they're all masters of deception."

"You're right…I'll keep an eye on him and if he tries anything, I'll chuck him." He pulled his Nun-Chucks from his belt and spun them in little circles. I quickly grabbed them with my hands and told him to put them away.

"We can't look like a threat or we'll get the same treatment back. Just lay low for now." I warned him.

"Alright boss, but If he tries anything, I'm the first to jump on him." He rubbed his hands together and grinned. Now that's the Mikey we all know and love.

"Hey what's this?" He pointed to a small area in the wall where a brick was sticking out far past the others. "It's like that movie where they put the letters in the wall!" He reached his hand out and grabbed ahold of the brick. "Maybe there's a surprise inside." He slowly pulled the brick out and jumped back in horror as a dozen or so large black rats scurried out as quickly as they could.

"Mikey don't…!"

"AHHHH!"

The ceiling began to shake while dust and small pebbles fell to the ground. All at once the entire structure rumbled and shook violently back and forth. As if it couldn't get any worse, the roof concaved in and came crashing down on top of our heads.

**:: (Erasmus's POV)**

"This is stupid." I mumbled.

"Shut up." Raph said back. I could feel his cold hands on my wrists as he kept a hold of the handcuffs behind my back. Now would be a good time for Donatello to shock me. I assure you that's the only reason I'm still here and not making a run for it. You may so "oh it's just a little electricity, it doesn't hurt" well you're wrong. It wasn't like it was just a little shock either; it felt like it was actually _inside_ my body. So no, I'm not a wimp, it really doesn't feel too pleasant. If I got desperate though, I would keep it in mind.

"Do you recognize this place?" He asked me.

"I don't know. I told you on the way here, I think I remember but I don't." I sighed in frustration. The worst part of all this though was that my throat was extremely dry and my stomach was starting to make some seriously unattractive noises. I was afraid to ask for food or drink in fear that it would be poisoned. That was something Karai taught me rather than the Shredder. Never take food or water from the enemy no matter how much you need it. Better to die from dehydration or starvation than give them the thrill of watching you die by their hands.

"I wish you would just remember already." He growled.

"Trust me I do too. Getting out of here is the only thing on my mind right now." I shook my head and looked away when he faced me. "As in, away from you people."

"At least yah don't wanna kill us anymore."

"Oh trust me, I still want to kill all you and stuff your bodies under the floorboards to rot for eternity."

"I can see we're getting nowhere." Raph grumbled.

"AHHHH!" A bloodcurdling scream came from the other side of the room and made the both of us practically jump out of our skins.

"Mikey what the…" Raph went to go yell at his brother but sooner focused his attention on the roof of the lair that began to shake and drop clouds of brown dust. "Remind me again why we brought that stupid…"

Large chunks of ceiling started to fall to the ground making the entire thing collapse. I looked at Raphael who was hypnotized and standing completely still.

"Raph move!" I called out to him but it was like he was completely lost inside an empty shell. The cement directly above our heads started to fall and if we didn't move now, we would both be crushed by thousands of pounds of concrete. I jumped up the air and kicked off his body, sending him and me in opposite directions from the crash and hopefully out of harm's way. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Michelangelo and Donatello diving to avoid the rest of the falling debris but I passed out before I could see them make it to safety.

***Evil Laugh***


	11. Chapter 11

: Chapter 11: **(Don's POV)**

I had no idea how much time had passed when my eyes snapped open. Immediately, spikes of pain went all throughout my body making me moan and move awkwardly to the side. I could feel a stream of something wet running down my face and tickling my neck. I slowly reached my hand up and touched it and since it was too dark to see anything, I brought my hand to my nose and sniffed. It was fresh blood; I couldn't have been out for too long.

I moved the small concrete boulders off my plastron and pushed a few larger ones out of my way. I could barely sit up from the pain in my stomach but I had to, I had to find my brothers and make sure they were alright. I grimaced as I tried again to sit up but the pain refused to let me get anywhere in my struggle. So instead, I lifted my head up and looked around the room. Huge blocks of concrete had fallen to the floor and cracked into millions of pieces. The place was even more disastrous than it had been.

I looked up to the ceiling and to my horror; there were still pieces of it left, just waiting to fall down on top of us. These were the monster pieces though and I had to get everyone out of here before they would come down.

"Mikey…" I called out for my brother but didn't hear a response.

"Don…" A few moments later someone did respond but it wasn't the one I had been calling for.

"Erasmus, where are you?" I called for him, quietly.

"Over here." He sounded like he was in a great deal of pain. Since I knew the avalanche wasn't his doing, I decided to go over and help him. I used every muscle in my aching body to turn myself over onto my stomach. I moaned and whined from the shots of pain especially in the back of my leg for some reason but I kept pressing forward until I was on my hands and knees.

"What happened?" He asked me.

"Mikey happened. Now stay still, I'm going to try and get to you." I slowly crawled forward and circumvented all the blocks of debris that were in my way. I climbed up on top of a huge chunk and slung my body overtop of it. "There you are."

Erasmus was lying on the other side and he looked like he had just gone through Hell. There were cuts all over his face and a small but deep indent was right in the middle of his forehead where a boulder must have fallen down on him.

"Why did you come?" He asked me.

"What do you mean?" I said out of breath.

"I thought you would have left me to die."

"I saw you save Raphael, so I guess I owe you one." I managed a small smile. He looked at me and gave the ugliest look he possibly could.

"I didn't save anyone!" What was left of the ceiling above us began to wobble and shake all over again.

"Shh! That thing is ganna come down any minute. Be quiet and give me your hand." I reached out to him.

"My hands are cuffed you asshole!" He whisper/yelled.

"Oh, then give me a foot, no pun intended."

"I'm not letting you help me. I can get out myself smartass." He insisted.

"Fine." I withdrew my offer and crawled off the boulder to go look for Mikey and Raph. I wasn't going to waste my time arguing with him when I knew it would just get me nowhere. I saw Erasmus kick Raph over on the other side of the room so that's where I'll head. It got harder and harder for my heart to beat as I realized how large the piles of cement were accumulating as I crawled across the room.

"Please be ok Raphie." I prayed.

"What did I say…about calling me Raphie…" I heard his voice. The adrenalin started to pump through my veins so I was able to pick up the pace and reach him quicker. "That slime tried to kill me."

"He saved your life." I moved the couple dozen of small boulders off his plastron and examined the damage. Several cracks were running down it along with a decent amount of dried up blood. He would be ok, but he had to get off the ground so his blood could rush back into his legs. "Alright come on." I tucked a hand behind his neck and pulled him into a sitting position the best I could. "You alright?"

"Yah…did yah find Mikey? I hope he wasn't killed cuz I wanted to do it myself." He grimaced painfully and wrapped his arm around his stomach. "We gotta get back to the lair, our _real _lair."

"We have to find Mikey first and figure out what to do with Erasmus."

"Just let him go."

I recoiled back in surprise at his statement. Wasn't he the one out of all us who wanted to retrieve him force him to remember his past in the first place?

"We need to focus on us right now. We need to get yah leg fixed up, find Mikey and tell Splinter what we found out. I'm sure we can catch Erasmus again."

What he was saying made sense but Erasmus already knew so much and releasing him back to the Shredder probably wasn't the best idea. But we were hurt, Raph especially and my…

"Oh damnit." I looked down at my leg that had a small fragment of my bow staff sticking out of the back of it. I must have landed on my stomach in a bad position and allowed my staff to be crushed by a rock and then jammed into the back of my thigh. "It's alright, a legs a leg. I'll go find Mikey, you stay here."

"No, I was plannin on goin to Canada." He rolled his eyes at me. I maneuvered in the other direction and started to crawl to where I saw Mikey go down. I softly called out his name but didn't hear anything. I pushed a few rocks out of the way and finally after the fourth or fifth one, Mikey's hand poked out from underneath it.

"Mikey…" A piece of the wall had fallen onto the back of his shell and protected him from the impact of the boulders. He was a lucky turtle but he wasn't out of the woods yet. I leaned my back against one of the boulders and used my legs to lift the piece of wall of his shell. I grabbed his arms, pulled him out, and dropped the wall back onto the floor.

"Mikey?" I held my fingers to his neck. He was alive, but barely. Now my adrenalin was really pumping. I swung his body over my shoulders into a fireman's carry and slowly stood up off the ground. I winced in pain but continued to take small baby steps back to Raph's position.

"Got him, let's go."

Raph stood up off the ground and helped me out with our baby brother.

"What about Erasmus?" He asked. I had completely forgotten about him until just now.

"Grab the remote from my belt and press the little blue button." I told him. He carefully reached his free arm into my belt and grabbed the device. He pressed the button and we heard something from across the room unclick.

**:: (Don's POV)**

After we got back to the lair, ever so slowly may I add, Splinter immediately got on the phone and called April and Casey over to help. They arrived fewer than 10 minutes later and started to tend to Michelangelo while I brought Raph into his room to get him fixed up.

"What about yah leg?" He asked me as I made him lay down on his bed.

"It's not as bad as your shell; I need to stop the bleeding so you don't pass out." I pulled out a few things from our first aid kit we had stored away in the lair. All my best medical supplies were in my duffel back that got destroyed in the collapse so this would have to do. I pulled out a pair of tweezers from one of his drawers and poured peroxide over top of his plastron. He growled and dug his fingers into his bed sheets, no doubt in my mind he was trying his best not to punch me as hard as he could.

"Sorry Raph, almost done." I stopped pouring and laid a few wads of gauze overtop of the area. "There are a few pieces of cement in your plastron and underneath it as well. I'm going to have to get them out so your skin doesn't get infected."

"How about you just pack up and call it a day?"

"Raph…" I gave him a look. "Stop being such a wimp. If you want a teddy bear to hug I can go in Mikey's room and get you one."

"_You're_ ganna need one after I put yah in the hospital for the rest of your life." He threatened.

"OK then, here we go." I disinfected the tweezers and leaned over top of Raph's body. The lighting in here was really bad but I would have to make due. Carefully, one by one I removed the shards and put them into a petri dish on my lap. "God there's so many." I said after I pulled out the eighteenth one.

Raph shifted uncomfortable on the bed and started to moan with each one I picked out. He hated being cared for with a burning passion. He could have a knife sticking out of his throat and all he would want to do was go out and fight. He also hated needles which is where I found my entertainment sometimes whenever he would come home with deep cuts and wounds that needed to be sterilized by injection. If you just hold the needle over top of his body he would freak out and start cursing you out in what seemed like 15 different languages. I know it isn't right, but sometimes things that are that damn funny need to be demonstrated.

"I think I have to give you a sedative so I can go deeper." I tried my best to hold back the laughs that were cumulating in the back of my throat.

"Incest much Donnie?" He grinned.

"Sedative is given through injection you pig."

"Oh I just remember I have to go and…sharpen my Sais…" He tried to get up but I pushed him back down on the bed and laughed.

"I'm just kidding now hold still I think this is the last one."

"You said that three pieces ago!"

I pulled the last shard out and placed it in the overflowing petri dish. "Ok, now I need to sterilize the area again."

"Is that another joke?" He asked.

"Uh…no." I grabbed the bottle of peroxide and drenched a good sized amount of gauze with it. "I'll put this over your shell and wrap it. You'll need to take it easy for the next few hours and then I'll bring you back up and try to stich the pieces of skin and muscle that were ripped." I placed the gauze over his shell and used silk medical tape to keep it down. I made him sit up so I could pull a compression wrap around his shell a few times to keep the gauze and tape together. "Alright, see you in four hours."

"I hope Mikey has to go through all the hell I just went through." He jumped up off the bed and stomped out of the room.

"It wasn't _that_ bad!" I yelled but I bet he was halfway to Canada by now. After I cleaned up things in Raph's room, I joined April, Casey and Splinter downstairs where they were tending to Michelangelo's small broken body. "He's worse than I thought."

"Yeah but he's lucky he made it out alive. I'm going to need to cast his leg but we don't have anything to do it with." April looked to me with a worried expression.

"I could run out and get the supplies after I take this thing out of my leg." I twisted my leg around so they could see the piece of wood sticking out of it.

"I'll help you with that and then I'll run with you to the store." She stood up and walked over to me.

"No way, it's too dangerous out there now that Erasmus is on the loose again." Casey opposed.

"You're not in charge of my life Casey Jones. I can handle myself and I have Don here to protect me." She wrapped her arms around one of mine and firmly nodded. "Come on Don; let's take a look at that leg."

She took me into our small bathroom and made me kneel over the bathtub while she looked at my thigh.

"That's a beautiful gash you got there Donnie."

"Thanks, getting beautiful gashes is one of my specialties." I winced as she touched the staff.

"You felt that?" She sounded surprised. "I'm going to need to give you a sedative while I try to pull it out. It's not that big but it's enough to put you in a lot of pain."

"Just pull it out April."

"Are you sure? You might pass out from the pain though."

"Yes, please hurry before I puke everywhere."

"Ok. I hope this doesn't affect things between us." I felt her hands grip around the wood, making me awkwardly shift positions and prepare for the terrible pain I was probably about to experience.

"Oh yeah? What kind of things?" I tried to keep my mind occupied while she yanked the staff out of my leg with one clean, simple motion. I fell over onto my side and started whining like a little baby.

"Oh it wasn't that big Donnie. You'll need stiches though." She waved the piece of broken staff above my head. The blood was only a few centimeters wide indicating that the staff wasn't in as deep as it felt. The pain as certainly equal to it though.

"Ok, I'll stitch it up." I got up off the floor and leaned back over the tub.

"Oh no you don't, I'm doing it. I brought some things I thought we would need when Splinter called, including a needle and stitches."

"Oh…wonderful." I moaned then growled once a splash of liquid started to run down my leg and burn like hell. "April! Some warning next time please?!"

She giggled and dabbed my leg with a cloth. "Oh stop being such a baby Donnie. It's just peroxide."

"Karma…why have you failed me?" I dropped my arms into the tub and let my head hang down. We sat there quietly as she prepared the wound for stitching. Her touch seemed a bit more gentle this time around which set off a few red flags in my head.

"You ok?" I asked her.

"I'm just glad you're alright." She said quickly.

"Just me?" I laughed like it was a joke, which I figured it was considering that Mikey was passed out on the couch with a broken shell and leg.

"I don't know…I'm so confused." She sighed.

"Well can stich it if you don't know how." My muscles tightened as the needles pierced my skin. "Or you can do it."

"I got it. You sure you don't want…"

"Yes April I'm sure I don't want a sedative." I really did want the sedative but I didn't want to look like a weakling. With every stich I was closer and closer to wanting to ball my eyes out but I had to stay strong for the sake of my sanity. What's mind bobbling to me is why I refused the sedative in the first place.

"You ever get that feeling when you don't know what to do?" She said out of nowhere.

"Umm…"

"Ok…I should probably word that differently." We laughed together although mine were out of pain rather than humor. "I care about you Donnie but I care about Casey too." I didn't know we were talking about relationships now. How come of a sudden she's deciding now is the best time to pour out her feelings to me? To be honest, with the recent wave of unfortunate events, I've kind of forgotten about my obsession over her believe it or not.

"I don't understand."

"I wish you could Donnie. I wish you could." I felt her hair brush up against my leg as she bit off the twine from the needle and finished up the stich. My whole body got the chills and I could feel goose bumps crawling up my entire body and up to my arms and neck. She put a big patch of gauze over the stiches and used medical tape to hold it on.

"Well thanks for your help April. I better go check on Mikey now." I jumped up as quickly as I could and bolted out the bathroom door. What happened to me? The love of my life was just trying to tell me something about her feelings towards me and I just ran off like a complete idiot?! I knew I would regret this later, especially when everything with Erasmus cooled down and those feelings for April O'Neil would come back and haunt me in my sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**A lot of you were asking for Leo/Erasmus's POV and I figured that sense you were, there may have been a little confusion as to where he stands concerning the relationship he has with everyone. So I went back and reread a lot of stuff and I realized that even though I had his emotions in my head, I wasn't giving them to you guys as much as I thought I was. So I'm going to try and clear things up in this chapter.**

: Chapter 12: **(Erasmus's POV)**

Try and put yourselves in my shoes for a minute as I layout the past events in the recent few days. When we went to loot the Golden sword at the East Side museum, Karai acted funny when she saw four "people," battling our Foot ninja instead of running away. When I told her I would take care of them she was oddly quick to say no. I ended up defeating Donatello and his whacko friend, against her orders, but one of them in particular was able to defeat me.

Ever since I met Raphael and realized he was a mutant like me and even looked a little like me, I started to wonder why the Shredder and Karai had lied, saying I was the only mutant in the entire world. At first I thought it was just a misunderstanding and maybe they had no idea he existed either so I let it go, but then we delivered our news of defeat to the Shredder. He and Karai went into the back room after she gave him several hints leading up to our failure. I could hear small parts of their conversation and it sounded to me like the Shredder was extremely pissed that I ran into Raph and his gang. So I grew curious all over again and started to question Karai about the red masked vigilante. She told me he was trained by the Shredder but I could sense her false accusation.

My suspicions really took off when both of them over reacted about the matter at hand. At that point, I knew something was up but I wasn't driven enough to actually go out and seek answers. Then, I met Raphael a second time at the trade ship docks. That time we actually spoke to each other and I confirmed my suspicions of him being a turtle once I realized he looked almost exactly like me. He wanted to know about my background and then I realized he was just as curious towards me as I was towards him. The only thing I told Raphael was that the Shredder had lied to me about being the only mutant in the world. Then, he said the Shredder had a knack for lying.

I didn't act it but those last few words of his spark several red flags in my brain. Could the man that's cared for me all my life and practically been the one I called "father," possibly have lied to me for a reason? At that time I knew he was probably trying to keep something from me especially since (somehow) Raphael was familiar with the Shredder's name which meant my Master was probably familiar with Raph's as well.

I had tried to kill Raph and his friend of them by crashing crates on their heads but it was merely an act so I could get away from them and try to recollect my thoughts. I pushed everything I just knew or what I thought I knew about this new band of mutants, into the back of my head and returned to the Foot building a bit slower than I normally did.

When I returned, Stockman was surprised that I had failed yet again. I told him there were some complications and that Raphael and some mug friend of his had gotten in the way. He forgave the interference but the look on his face when he said it seemed to be telling a different story. Somehow, the Shredder found out that I met Raph again and instantly I figured it was Stockman's doing. He probably told the Master it was my fault, that way he wouldn't hack off another part of his body for failing.

Once again, Shredder overreacted and demanded to know if I had done away with him or said anything to him otherwise. When I said yes, we had spoken, he looked to Karai like the entire world was about to end. He pulled her back into his secret headquarters again but this time, he emerged only a few minutes later.

He said we were to run a heist mission to collect supplies from a gang known as the "highflyers." He said I would not do it alone; Karai was to assist me to make sure there were no complications. Once we arrived, everything seemed to be going as planned until the leader of the gang handed something off to Karai. Like before, I could sense the waves of betrayal from Shredder since he had her tamper with something that I was not to know about. In my opinion, Karai and I were equals (in a sense) so there was no reason for one to know a secret and not the other. My entire life seemed to be turning around in only a matter of days and all of that happened because I had to be an idiot and engage Raphael when I was told not to.

Then the elevator to the Chrysler building collapsed and Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo, ordered me to follow them out of the warehouse. I could feel someone pulling at my heart and telling me to go even though Karai was screaming and yelling for me to stay. It was a feeling I had never felt before which was why I chose to follow it. Shredder had taught us to follow the callings that would sometimes manifest themselves to us and I personally believed that this was one of those crazed up forms of that exact thing.

Little did I know, this "calling," of mine was more like a death sentence. Someone whacked me on the side of the head with a blunt object, who I recently found out was actually Donatello, and then stuffed a bag over my head and walked down into the sewers. When I woke up, I had a fabulous greeting ceremony followed by extreme levels of confusion and very painful surges of electricity through my already weakened body. So many things were said, they told me I was their brother and I was raised by a Sensei they called "Splinter."

At the spot they had me in the underground wasteland; there were obvious signs of a struggle that occurred more than a decade earlier. They told me that those exact signs where the reason that I was what I was today. First, they told me our origin story. Then, they said the Shredder had kidnapped me and raised me as his son when I was only 2 years old or so. Since my head was already mumbled up with the recent obscure acts of the Shredder, I actually almost believed them. I thought that it could be possible but I wasn't going to jump to conclusions when they had very little evidence to go on anyway.

Knowing that, they decided to take me back to what they called our "old lair." As soon as I walked through its threshold, my palms started to get thick with sweat and my head started to ache all around. I could feel the pictures forming in the back of my mind and I 100% knew that I remembered the old, torn up place but I just didn't know where I remembered it from.

I refused to give my "brothers" the satisfaction of me starting to fall into their devious mind tricks so I ignored it. During this entire time I was try to get free of my handcuffs and take them all out while they were off guard, but something else happened before I could. The roof began to collapse and I still don't understand why I chose to save Raphael's life. I guess some part of me wanted to believe that what they were saying was true but at the same time it wanted revenge and it wanted it badly. Still, I pushed him out of the way before he could get squashed by the falling rocks. Some might ask if I was trying to save myself in the process. At the time, it was more of a 50-50 deal.

Then, the dust settled and the three mutants just got up and walked out the door without even offering to lend a helping hand. Donatello did try to help me but I refused because I didn't want to look like a weakling in front of him or his brothers. That stupid mistake is probably the reason I'm still lying here alone on this hard, concrete floor.

I chose to put my trust in them; I chose to believe that what they were possibly was in some messed up way, possibly true. But they took the little trust I had in them and threw it away like it was nothing. Along with an extremely battered body from the recent collapse in the sewers, I couldn't seem to find the fine line between reality and fantasy. My fantasy half wants everything to work out in the end. It wanted me to return to the turtles and try to solve things and seek the truth. But my more realistic half kept reminding me over and over again bout my loyalty to the Shredder who I didn't even believe was everything he was making himself to be.

Even though both ends seemed to be both very terrible options, right in between the two, was another possible outcome. This third opinion is what got my scratched up, beaten body to slowly get up off the ground and stand. I moved large pieces of cement out of my way as I tried to find the exit out of the God forsaken place. Once and awhile I would have to stop and cough all the dust out of my lungs that was slowly falling from the ceiling. A closer examination showed that only half of it had fallen and still a smaller portion of it was remaining. I rotated around the small, dark room to find any signs of the exit. Luckily, the collapse had created a large hole in the wall leading out into a separate part of the sewers. I followed it out while at the same time listening to the sounds of the rest of the roof falling down onto the ground. A final burst of energy from my tiresome body allowed me to jump out of the opening just in time before the entire lair became nothing more than a distant memory.

I fell into the cold, icy sewer water on my heads and knees but furthermore allowed myself to completely fall down in the shallow bank. The water smelled foul but it soothed the cuts and scratches that were all over my body and helped soothe the terrible aches that were cowering within my head. I took long, shallow breaths, allowing my body and mind to join back together after their recent separation through all the chaos. It didn't take any of the Shredder's teachings for to know that someone's body will work best when both the mental and physical form are working in joint unison together. Besides, I'll need all the strength I can get for all the new fun and games I have planned for our little mutant friends.

**If things still aren't clear please let me know in the comment section and I will try and answer them for you. Would you guys prefer if I wrote who's POV it was before I open each new segment? Your thoughts are greatly appreciated and thanks for the continued support! **


	13. Chapter 13

: Chapter 13: **(Erasmus's POV) **

The rest of my journey through the sewers was easier the second time around. One, because I wasn't being held against my will, and two, I knew what my plan was ahead of me and I knew exactly how I was going to pull it off. First, I would need to make a certain pit stop and collect a few things I was going to need. By reading the signs one each of the sewer tunnels, I was able to identify where in Manhattan I was. I climbed up the nearest ladder I could find and pushed away the manhole cover so I could get out. Luckily, this one was right in the middle of an alley so I was able to easily climb the fire escape and use the roof tops as faster transportation to my destination.

I guessed I had been passed out down there for a few hours since the sun was already starting to set and turn the sky into beautiful shades of pink and orange. It was almost too tempting to stop and admire the painted clouds but I had to keep moving. After about 10 minutes of carefully diving across the rocky rooftops of the buildings, I could finally see the Foot tower in front of me. I had to stop and duck down behind one of the buildings air conditioning systems and examine the playing field. I wasn't planning on going in for a reunion party, I was here to take some of the equipment Karai and I picked up from the highflyers. However, Shredder would never let those kinds of valuable weapons in my control if I just asked, so I was going to have to sneak into my own home, and steal them.

After I decided how I was going to get in, I ran out from behind the conditioner but quickly recoiled back and dove behind it again. Purple Dragons where everywhere! On the rooftops, on the ground, I could even see a few perched on top of the Foot building. Shredder never had this much security around his domain, I wonder what the occasion was? I poked my head out from behind the machine and got a good look at how many there were. There must have been at least two dozen on the roofs, maybe a dozen or so on the actually building I was trying to get to but none of them compared to the huge, muscular dinosaur that was only a few paces away from me. Looks like Shredder had Hun doing patrol work again.

"You there!" Hun called out to one of his henchmen who was struggling with the huge weapon he had in his hands. "Fix your gun and then get back to work! We can't let that mutant menace get anywhere near this place, Masters orders!"

So it's true. Karai must have told the Shredder about my betrayal and now he's got security all over the place looking for me. I chuckled to myself as I realized that the only reason he puts people on watch at this rate, is when he's afraid of something (muaw). It didn't matter though, I could maneuver around these guys without a problem but getting past his inside security would be a whole new fiasco. Let's focus on one thing at a time though.

I jumped out from behind the air conditioning and pulled out my katana while I ran as fast as I could towards the first Dragon who unfortunately for him, had his back turned. With a clean, silent sweep of a sword, I took him out with no problem and took cover behind the roof door. His body falling to the ground attracted the attention of some nearby Dragons who ultimately informed Hun about the disturbance. His big, overweight body managed to jump across a few roofs to the one that his fallen Dragon was on.

"He's here; I know those clean sword cuts anywhere. Spread out and search for him!" He yelled and instantly all his men jumped away in different directions. I had no intentions of wasting my time on these amateurs so I kept pressing forward and hiding in the shadows that the lack of sun was beginning to make. Hun was dumb enough to focus his entire team on that one area, making it easier for me to reach the bottom of the foot building. I jumped down off the rooftops and landed on the street below. I kept cover behind an alleyway that was directly across the main entrance. Right when I was about to cross the street, the doors opened and about 3 dozen Foot ninja, along with my most hated sister Karai, ran out and fanned in different directions.

"I want him back to me alive!" Karai said and then signaled here team to leave. Hun must have informed Shredder about his dead comrade and then Shredder must have sent out Karai to do all his dirty work. I'm just now realizing what a wimp he is. Too bad it took me nearly 15 years to finally figure it out for myself. It was strange to me that the more and more I thought about it; the more I realized how much I hated the Shredder and his devious ways. It was like the good in me was starting to break through the fantasy life I had been living in and finally show itself.

Once the Foot ninja were gone and away from Karai, I watched her as she paced the front of the building with a sullen look on her face. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, she jumped into the shadows and pulled out a few throwing stars from her belt and chucked them at the buildings security cameras. They cracked and fell to the ground once the stars made contact with their wiring.

"I know you're here, brother. It's alright, please come out." I growled at her remark but her actions towards the camera have made me think that maybe she wasn't on the side I thought she was. I straightened my posture and walked out of the alley and across the lonely street but kept my katana at the ready, just in case.

"Good thing you decided to show up, although I have a feeling you're not here to rejoin us." She kept her glare away from me and ignored my presence.

"I'm not." A kept my swords firmly gripped in my fingers. Even though she and I were close, I wasn't going to take any chances; I was going to be prepared for anything.

"Erasmus, the Shredder wanted you destroyed…" Her eyes finally made contact with mine although they were not the ones I grew up looking at for 15 years. Dark circles had formed around them and their once bright hue was now darkening into a colorless shade of grey.

"You betray him by telling me this."

"No, once he said that he wanted you killed, I started to question my loyalty towards him." I noticed she tried abnormally hard to speak those last few phrases. It was as if she couldn't believe them herself. So, Karai has been having the same loyalty swings that I've been having.

"What do you mean? You're his most talented student." I said.

"Even though he is my Master, you are my brother and I was completely taken aback when he even suggested the idea of your demise in order to save himself! I'm sorry that I told him about your leaving but I had no choice! He nearly took my head off when I wouldn't tell him where you were and why you hadn't returned with me! I even had to pretend I hated you so he wouldn't…" She sheathed her sword and swallowed hard. "But, he is our father, our caretaker and even though we disagree with him, we must continue to serve like we always have."

"How could you say that Karai?! You said it yourself that he wants me dead! He's afraid I know too much and that I'm going to come back to finish him off! He thinks I know the truth and that's why he's hiding form me." I sheathed my on swords and placed my hands on her shoulders. "We don't have to kill him, but we could run away, go somewhere else and start a new life!"

"It is not that simple Erasmus!" She tried to pull away but I kept a firm grip on her. "I told him I would find you that way he wouldn't have Hun destroy you. He wants you back, he can change."

"You just said…!"

"I know what I said, my loyalty for him is wearing thin but we must try and see if he can turn from his ways."

I let go of her and gripped the top of my head. I wanted to ask her so badly if what the Shredder told me about my past was a lie, but I was afraid of finding out the truth. There was only one way I would be able to fully execute my plans though and figuring out whose right and who's wrong will make the ultimate decision.

"The turtles told me something. They told me that my past was completely opposite to what I've been told growing up. Is it true? Has Shredder been lying?" I asked her but she turned her head and looked away. "Karai please, I have to know."

"The Shredder has indeed lied in order to get you to fully serve him. As for what the mutants are telling you, it is most likely the truth and if they haven't told you already, they are your brothers." She sighed and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Please, do not tell Shredder I told you this. He will kill me if he finds out I helped you come to know these things."

"Don't worry, I won't tell him, I promise." Having no idea what to do or say next, I grabbed her shoulders again and brought her freezing body close to mine. I was surprised she didn't reject and pull away considering she was never the "hugging" type in the first place.

"I can't believe our entire worlds are turning upside down in a matter of days. I never thought this day would come so soon. I'm sorry I never told you earlier but Shredder said he would kill me if I did." She brought her hand up to her face and wiped her tears away the best she could.

"Shhh, its ok you don't have to apologize."

"Well isn't this sweet." A strong masculine voice emerged from down the road making my head quickly snap to the right where Hun and a few of his friends were standing with their arms crossed, laughing like a pack of deranged hyenas.

"I'm sure the Master will be please to know that Karai had the chance to take you out, and instead deluded him by telling you everything you weren't supposed to know." He waved on his Dragons and slowly Karai and I became encircled by the pack.

"I'll do the Master a favor and bring back both your heads for him to mount on his wall since your both dead to him now anyway! He'll finally recognize my true potential and crown me his second in command!" He raised his fists in the air and rallied his team.

"Hun you swine! Karai had nothing to do with this!" I wanted to pull out my katana so badly but Karai's trembling body was still clinging onto mine.

"I'll be sure to make up a reasonable story. I see you've been so kind as to take out the security cameras for me too. Now there will be no proof except my very words!"

"You will pay for your satanic actions Hun!" Karai suddenly let go of me as a new wave of anger entered her body and retrieved her weapons at the same time I did. "We can take you and your demons out with no problem!"

Hun chuckled malevolently and opened his arms out to his sides. "What about your most "loved" Foot ninja?" I looked to the sky once Hun pointed to it and watched as one by one, the Foot ninja that came out with Karai dropped around us with their weapons close to their bodies.

"You all have forsaken the name of the Shredder!" She called out with unfathomable amounts of rage. I regretted all those times we tortured the Foot ninja and killed them off sometimes for no reason. Now they're all banding together to take us down since they've been given the chance.

"How we've awaited this day!" One of them yelled out.

"We can finally get back at you without the Shredder punishing us in return!" Another cried.

"You do not obey Hun! You obey us!" Karai growled.

"Not anymore they don't. You had three days to bring Erasmus back and if you didn't we were to eliminate him. Now you've told him the truth and we get to kill both of you for it! This is my lucky day!" Hun pulled out a long, metal chain with a huge steal ball attached to the end of one side. "Don't batter them up too much boys, we need something to bring back to the Shredder." He smirked and then let out a battle cry that sent all the people around us, flushing to the center of the circle.

"We're in this together now Karai." I told her while spinning the blades in my hands.

"I just hope we can make it _out_ together Erasmus." We jumped away from each other to engage our enemies before they could reach the center of the circle and box us in.

I use to follow the ways of these Foot ninja so I know that they fight without honor. I realized now how foolish this tactic was as they began to gang up on me in unequal numbers. While I would be battling the one in front of me, another one would come up behind me and try to swipe my head off. Luckily I was fast enough to avoid them but eventually they would catch me off guard and it would lead to my demise especially since my body was already exhausted and weak from my earlier accident in the sewers.

As a Dragon ran towards me with a crow bar raised in the air, I used my sword to disarm him and then kick him in the stomach which sent him flying back into the four people behind him. Another came up behind me and managed to swipe the ends of my black bandana off but I easily delivered a roundhouse kick into his chest. I heard the air rush out of his lungs as his body hit the ground and lay limp while more Ninja jumped over him and headed towards me.

"They just keep coming!" I yelled to Karai while turning my head to check on her. She was easily taking out the Foot ninja but the Dragons were able to get a couple of shots at her that would knock her off balance. One of them kicked her sword from her hands and grabbed ahold of her arms and started to pull them in obscure directions.

"Ah! Erasmus!" She called out. Without hesitating, I ran over to her as fast as I could and slit the Dragons throat. As his body fell to the ground, I caught myself for the first time in my life, second guessing my decision to take a man's life.

"Erasmus!" She shook my shoulders and got ahold of my attention. "We need to stay back to back!" I nodded solemnly and raised my swords to my face. As we worked as a team, it became easier to fend off our attackers. Some of the ninja we were able to throw incredible distances, would turn around and run away from the fight.

"Get back here you cowards!" Hun called out. "If yah want something done right, yah gotta do it yourself!" Hun stampeded through his crowds of minions while spinning his weapon in the air. He dropped it down on us but we quickly jumped out of the way so it made a dent on the cement rather than our bodies.

"We need to get out of here!" She looked me in the eyes with a confused expression once I yelled to her.

"What?! But you never leave fights Erasmus!"

"Well I do now, we're way out numbered!" I kicked more Ninja away and blocked their attacks the best I could. "Let's go!" I ran to her grabbed her arm and pulled the both of us away from Hun who was about to bring his wrecking ball down on our heads. I used one sword to clear a path out of the circle we were enclosed in.

Once they were all out of the way and I could see the street, I could hear Hun calling from behind us to open fire. I could dodge swords and other blunt weapons, but not gunshots especially since Karai was being difficult and struggling behind me. The first shot fired and I could hear the bullet whistle over my head, making my heart race even faster. Shot after shot fired but all of them strangely missed us every single time.

"Hurry!" I pulled her into the nearest alley and used my free katana to lift the cover off the manhole.

"I am not going down there!" She cried out.

"Oh yes you are!" I pushed her down and quickly jumped in after her once I could hear the hoard of enemies starting to get close to the alley. I quickly pulled the cover back on and stayed silent in the darkness while they flowed in and started to search for us.

"They couldn't have gotten far!" Hun yelled.

"Come on." I whispered to Karai and used my foot to urge her down the ladder. She mumbled but slowly descended into the sewer's darkness.

"This is ridiculous! We should be up there fighting them!" She growled.

"Shhh! Keep going." When we reached the bottom I took a moment to recollect my thoughts and decide what to do next. The decision became increasingly difficult as now I had _two_ targets that I wanted to go after and destroy being the turtles and now the Shredder.

"What now?" Karai crossed her arms over her chest. "By now, Hun has told the Shredder about our defiance and our escape! We will never be welcomed back at his side again and he will have armies upon armies out looking for us!"

"Then I suggest we deal with that the proper way. How do you feel about going up against the Shredder?" I asked her with confidence.

"I think that is the dumbest idea you could possibly ever have! Not only is he our Master…"

"Karai listen to me! If you swore loyalty to me and I went out and killed your family how would you react?"

"I have no…"

"It's an analogy Karai. Now answer me." I cut her off.

"I suppose I would find and destroy you. But shredder did not kill anyone Erasmus."

"But he wants to kill me and probably will."

She went to say something but then stopped and looked me in the eyes. "I guess you have a point."

"And he won't stop there either. He'll find you next and probably take you out too for helping me. For as long as he lives he will hunt the both of us down and won't stop until were lying dead at his feet!" I exclaimed.

She suddenly reached her hand up and cupped the side of my face. "You've changed Erasmus. I feel like I do not know you anymore."

"That's because I'm finally thinking on my own and not letting the Shredder do it for me. So what's your choice? You can either come with me or stay here until Hun finds you." I couldn't help but grin.

"No, I will join you but I still think that murdering our Master will allow a curse upon and haunt us for the rest of our days."

"Then so be it."

"How will you do it? I will help you but we can't possibly do it on our own." She shook her head.

"Even though my hatred for my brothers burns with a passion, we could use them to our advantage for the time being." I was surprised at how quickly my goals changed. All it took was Karai to tell me the truth and then suddenly it was like the shadowed darkness instantly left my mind and made me realize who the real enemy was. Things would never be the same again, I would never have the comfort of returning to a home like I did before and now we had to prepare to protect our lives from the very person we once called our father. First we needed a well-executed plan and a well-executed team. I couldn't believe I was saying this, but we needed more than just Karai and I, we needed a good well trained team and the only people I know in the world who are not currently trying to kill us and have the skills to stand a chance against the Shredder, were the very same people who left me to die alone in the sewers.

**Did you notice a change in Erasmus's behavior? ;) #creepywinkyface. **

**(Optional) And now a very long summarizer because this chapter was really deep and confusing so this is for the sum of people who didn't quite get it:**

**I know this was a lot to take in and I'm aware I had a sudden change in plot (Erasmus wanting to kill the turtles then changing his mind and wanting to kill Shredder) but that's what I was aiming for. Whether I did it well or not, I don't know but if your confused please let me know because I've been told several times that my stories are on the "very hard to understand" spectrum of the FanFiction scale. I write in a sort of way that makes the readers have to think about the story and sometimes it's just too much lol. **

**I know in the 2k3 series that Karai was **_**extremely**_** loyal to the Shredder but I wanted to show that the bond her and Erasmus now share is so strong, that she was willing to go against Shredder's wishes and join her brother in the journey for a solution to the problem. She's not going to betray Erasmus BTW (spoiler alert). To me, understanding that concept was the most difficult to understand but also we're starting to see that Erasmus's "Splinter raised side" is starting to unfold and he's becoming more and more truth seeking and listening to the honorable side of himself. Trust me, I hate to see badass Leo leave too but these things must happen lol. That was a really long summarizer… but see you in Chapter 14! My stories are usually 18 chapters long but I think this one might exceed that a little bit…**


	14. Chapter 14

: Chapter 14: **(Don's POV)**

"Alright come on" I jumped out of the manhole and reached back down to grab April's hand.

"Ouch Don be careful!"

"Sorry." I pulled her out the rest of the way and then straightened my hat snuggly on top of my head. "How do I look?"

"Like a civilian on steroids." She shook her head and sighed. I had on Casey Jones's trench coat and one of his beat up hats that he brought for me to wear to the pharmacy. In the daylight, you could probably tell I wasn't the most normal looking creature on the planet, but it was dark outside so blending in should be a bit easier than usual.

"Good enough, come on, the pharmacy is just around the corner." I grabbed ahold of her hand and pulled her out of the alley and onto the busy sidewalk.

"Oh I just love the City at night." Her eyes twinkled from the lights that were being emitted from the buildings around us. "Don't you love how the sidewalks sparkle like their covered with snow?"

"Just remember our primary goal here." I gave her a reassuring smile.

"Then why are you holding my hand?" She stopped walking and tilted her head. I started to say something but then hesitated when I realized I didn't have a very good answer to that question.

"I…just…don't want you to get lost!" I dropped her hand and folded my arms over my chest. "But fine, get carried away by a thug and see if I care." I nodded my head and then continued walking down the street. I heard her little giggles immense from behind me and then the click clack of her running back up to my side. She threaded her arm through the crook of mine and then laid her head against me.

"So where is this place anyway?" She asked.

"Just over here a-"My words got cut short when I choked after she tightened her grip on my arm. "April…" I pulled away from her and smiled apologetically. "I don't know what's up with you today but Michelangelo is seriously injured and quite frankly…you're…distracting me." There was no other way to say it but I was getting a little fed up with the touchy feely mood she was in, for the time being.

"Oh Don, I'm sorry. Casey's been ignoring me and I'm just…lonely I guess." She dropped her head and fiddled around with the straps of her purse.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know..."

"It's ok, your right though. I need to get ahold of myself." She took a deep breath and then smiled happily. "Alright then, off to the pharmacy." She walked past me with a bright smile on her face. I lifted my head up and sighed deeply. Dumb mistake after dumb mistake, when will I learn?

When we reached the pharmacy April grabbed ahold of the big, metal handle and pulled. She began to grow frustrated when the door refused to budge.

"Oh no, I think their closed!" She looked at me with a sadden expression. After trying one more time, she finally let go of the handle and grunted in frustration.

"You done?" I gave her a half smile.

"What are you..?" She looked like she was about to slap me across the face for sassing her like that but after I placed my hand on the door and _pushed_, her jaw dropped and then she crossed her arms over her chest. "Not a word about this to anyone."

"Yeah, because the huge "push" sign on the door wasn't clear enough." I winked at her and then walked into the store before she could really slap me.

"Figure out that door ok?" An elderly man behind the counter waved at us and chuckled. I smiled and gave him a small wave but April slapped me on the shoulder and pushed me forward. "Can I help you folks with anything?" He asked us with a gentle smile.

"Yes actually." I pried April's fingers off my arm and walked up to the counter. "I need orthopedic padding and fiberglass for my brother's broken leg."

"I'm afraid I don't carry fiberglass but I do have plaster rolls. Will that subdue?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Isle 3 sir. It's right over there." He pointed a crooked finger across the room to the designated isle. I headed over, with April trailing close behind me, and started to look through the supplies.

"Do they have what you need?" She asked.

"Yeah, but it's all cheap generic sh…" I grunted and pretended to couch. "Shtuff."

"You can swear in front of me Donnie. I don't mind." She giggled.

"It's not polite to curse in front of a lady, or anyone for that matter." I pulled a package of three plaster rolls off the shelf and turned it around to examine the details. When I felt like someone was staring at me, I slowly turned my head to the side and saw April's bright green eyes were gazing into mine.

"Uh…hi?" I waved and she waved back.

"Why are you so nice?"

"I'm not nice." I turned away and continued browsing through the isle for the orthopedic padding.

"Yes you are!"

"This conversation is over."

"I bet you can't even say one bad word." She smirked.

"You're right."

"Donatello!" She slapped me on the arm and giggled.

"April please…" She stopped horsing around when I tried to show her how serious I was about getting my baby brother help. "Can you go in the next isle and look for painkillers?"

She smiled and nodded and then slowly walked away to the next isle. Once she was far enough away, I let out a sigh of relief and continued to look through the supplies. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy her company, just not when one of my brother's is hurt and quite bad for that matter. And like I said before, I don't really have feelings for her anymore either so this conversation defiantly was over.

"Find it April?" I called out to her. "April?" After she didn't respond I grew a little curious and walked over to the next isle. "April?"

"Hello Donatello." I dropped the goods I had in my hands in exchange for the Bo-Staff behind my back. I spun it above my head and then pointed it to the sickening face that had April's mouth covered with her hand. She clawed at her with her nails but the abductor stood strong and kept the same bloodcurdling grin on her face the whole time. "We thought we might find you here. I heard that your brothers got pretty banged up in that underground collapse. I do hope their alright." She gave a sinister grin.

"What do you care about them?" I growled and started to think about ways to break April free and escape the pharmacy. I was also wondering where the store owner was in all this mess. Anyone who was already in here had fled the building and ran out onto the streets. Good, they would contact the police, hopefully.

"If you sheath your weapon, I will explain." Her voice suddenly went form a threatening cowl, to a desperate pitch in a matter of Nano seconds. She released her hand from April's mouth and let her run over to me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hid behind my back.

"Come on Don, let's get out of here!" She tried to pull me but I refused to move. I couldn't leave though; when in the world would this girl ever take a prisoner and then just let them go? She probably meant business which is why I decided to stay and hear her out. I sheathed my staff and the nodded for her to continue.

"I was very serious when I asked you if your brothers were alright." She began.

"Raph and I are fine, but Mikey has a broken leg. April and I came here to pick up supplies to help him."

"What of your other brother?" she smiled but her face still looked completely serious as if she already knew the answer to her own question.

"Who Erasmus?" I said with great curiosity.

"So you remembered me."

April and I both spun on our heels and looked at the person standing behind us. The darkness of the room made it hard to clearly see his face but his muscular body and glowing red eyes stood out like an Oreo in the snow. He still wore the same black uniform but something was different, the red foot symbol that use to be on his left shoulder was missing.

"Woah, that's Leonardo?" April's jaw dropped in awe as he stood tall and walked into the shallow light. He was either taller than her, or she was crouching in fear as he approached us. I couldn't help but lower my head a little as well as he looked down on us.

"I thought maybe you forgot about me back in the lair." He grinned.

"Erasmus…I tried to help you but you didn't cooperate. I knew you could make it out on your own and my brothers couldn't." I kept my voice stern and clear to keep him from growing too confident.

"So I'm suddenly not your brother?" He scowled.

"No I mean…my brothers who couldn't get out of the wreckage. You were perfectly fine except for that nasty bruise on your head." This was not going very well. I do hate to say though that I'm actually glad to see him, even though he probably wanted to slice and dice me into a million little turtle pieces.

"Well you were right then I guess. Actually, I was so fine, that I headed back to the Foot building to gather some supplies that I would need to kill all you traitors off." The grin on his face made me reach behind my back to grab my staff. "But something happened before I could."

"What do you mean?" I raised my brow.

"I guess you can say that I found out the truth, the real way." He gestured to Karai who was standing behind us. "She betrayed the Shredder in order to set my life straight. Now he's out to kill the both of us."

"I'm sorry to hear that." I stood up straight and dropped my arm to my side.

"Donatello, do you not understand?" Karai stepped out from behind me and stood in front of Erasmus. "We cannot run away from him for the rest of our lives! The entire population of Purple Dragons and Foot ninja are both patrolling the streets daily trying to snipe us from a roof or slash our heads off with katana!"

"How is that my problem?" I was starting to grow impatient. Michelangelo needed me and these two goons were taking up precious time.

"We need your help to defeat him. We can't do it alone." Erasmus crossed his arms.

"Why should we help you? You tried to kill us!" I raised my voice but still tried to stay calm.

"And you kidnapped me!" Erasmus returned my tone of voice.

"Enough!" Karai placed her hands on both our plastrons and pushed us in different directions. "How about we make a deal?" She pulled out a large plastic bag with some kind of object inside. She reached her hand in and pulled it out then showed it to me. "Perhaps your brother would enjoy this?"

It was fiberglass. Mikey could heal better and faster with that material but I knew Karai would want us to fight by her side in return. This is when being leader comes to be a real pain in the shell.

"Please Donatello, we're desperate." I suppose Erasmus's words were what finally got me to consider their pleas and reexamine the two hurt faces that stood in front of me. Erasmus looked so different from the last time I saw him, which was only a few hours ago. He didn't have that Foot ninja scowl to him anymore and his personality seemed to be changed as well. Even Karai looked like some kind of magical being had floated inside of her and pulled all the darkness out of it.

"First you have to tell me what you did with the store owner." I frowned.

"We snuck past him…" Erasmus looked at me like I was crazy. "You know there's a back door. Plus the fact that he looked like he was 102 might help." He winked, making April giggle.

I sighed and took a few deep breaths. "I'm going to consult the others first. Erasmus, pull your bandana around your eyes, Karai, do the same with your headband." They unquestionably obeyed my orders and covered their eyes. I was going to bring them back to the lair but I had to make sure they didn't know where it was first. "I am so going to regret this." I may have just made a deal with the devil but right now, Mikey's health was all that mattered to me.

Police sirens began to be heard in the distance and getting louder by the minute.

"No you won't bro." Erasmus smiled and gave a thumbs up. Erasmus SMILED, and it wasn't an "I'm way better than you" kind of smile either. He's definitely changed; I can feel it, I just know I can.

**:: About a half hour earlier… (Erasmus POV)**

"Are you sure they will come this way?" Karai sighed and sat down on the roof.

"I'm sure; Donatello had to carry Michelangelo out of that lair. They're going to need supplies to fix him up." I kept my gaze on the small pharmacy down on the street.

"Even if they do come, how will you get them to even believe that we seriously need their help?" She sounded worried, a kind of tone you rarely heard from her.

"I don't know, but I'm not going to force them to help. If they do refuse, we're just going to have to take down the Shredder and his men on our own."

"Perhaps you can use your brotherly connections to get them to believe you?" Karai completely ignored me and continued to brainstorm ways to get the turtles on our side. I could definitely tell she wasn't happy about my decision to go up against the Shredder in the first place but like I tried to tell her on the way here, it was the right thing to do not only for us, but for everyone who has to suffer under his command in the present and future.

"Karai, relax. I'll protect your sorry ass." I grinned as she slapped me, rather hard might I add.

"You, Erasmus, are the one who has to watch his "sorry ass""

"Shhh…why don't you just yell to the Dragons and tell them where we are why don't yah?" I rolled my eyes and continued to watch the little store. "There they are!"

"Really?!" She jumped up and peered down onto the street. "You lie!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." She hit me again but then pulled out her katana.

"And I could not help but to remove your head form your body either!" she growled.

"Karai, shush up and sit down!" I swung my leg underneath hers and pulled the sword from her hand. For the first time in my life, I actually saw Karai smile and laugh. I guess I wasn't the only one who was changing on the inside. "How do you feel?" I asked her out of nowhere.

"How do I feel about what?" She said.

"About leaving the Foot and all."

"I have to admit Erasmus, I feel very different. It is like a huge amount of weight has been taken off my chest and I can finally breathe again." She smiled. "But now it will only return once we meet the turtles."

"I'll get them to help us. I think if they can understand our situation, then maybe we can do more than defeat the Shredder together."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I just…was hoping I could return to them someday. Maybe even you too but, I've done so much to them and they've done so much to me…it just seems like a shot in the dark." I looked back down onto the street where a big, bulky figure and a small petit woman were walking together holding hands. "That must be one of them. You remembered to bring the stuff right?"

"Yes I did and I am not falling for that again Erasmus!" She grunted.

"Fine, stay here then." I jumped down off the roof and bolted across the street to the back door of the pharmacy without being seen because I'm just that good. This was the moment of truth and I'm going to go ahead and admit it, it was more than just a little conversation with a long lost friend, it was a matter of life or death for _all_ of us.


	15. Chapter 15

: Chapter 15: **(Don's POV)**

"I'm ganna kill you Don!"

Never had I ever have to run away from one of my brothers who were outraged at the level Raphael was right now. I used my Bo-Staff to keep him a safe distance from me but once he pulled out his Sais, I was starting to wonder if he really had the intentions of hurting or even actually _killing _me.

"Why did yah bring them back here?! Now there ganna go tell the Shredder where we live!" Raphael's voice was almost bloodcurdling, making me run faster around the lair and eventually behind April for safety. "I don't care if they say they aint workin for him anymore! Their FOOT! Foot lie!" Something breakable went flying across the room and shattered against the wall behind April and I. "Splinter is ganna get back and see they're here and flip shit on us!"

"Would you shut up!" Out of nowhere, I screamed to the top of his lungs and instantly Raphael's voice could be heard no more. "I am well aware about what I just did ok?!" I sighed. "We owe Leo for leaving him to die in the old lair! No person or mutant should have to go through that and it was a dumb decision in the first place. I'm glad we did it though, because if we didn't, Erasmus probably wouldn't ever have found out the truth about us."

"We tried to tell him!"

"Yeah well he didn't believe us and I don't blame him. He believed Karai though…and she risked her life to tell him the truth. That's how I know we can trust them, to an extent. They even agreed to be blindfolded for crying out loud Raph." I stated with enthusiasm while pointing to the masks across their eyes.

"I never knew yah were so gullible brainiac." He scowled. "Fine then, let em loose! If they go and slice yah throats I don't wanna hear a word about it." The sound of his pounding footsteps got dimmer and dimmer as he finally left the room in an outrage.

"Sounds like Raphael doesn't quite agree with your decision Don." Erasmus frowned.

"You shut up too. You're lucky I'm even considering your proposal and if you try anything and I mean ANYTHING, I'll have your bodies mounted and stuffed for the East Side Museum now go sit down over there so I can keep an eye on you." I pointed to the kitchen table and watched as they slowly walked over and sat down obediently. I didn't care about the smug looks on their faces, just as long as they obeyed. "April, take this and go get started on making the mixture for Mikey's cast please." I handed her the bag of fiberglass. She took it and ran over to the living room where a bowl of water was waiting to be mixed.

"Ok now listen you two… when Splinter gets back and Mikey is awake and well, you can tell us what's going on but until then, you sit right here and don't move."

"Can we at least take our blindfolds off now?" Karai asked.

"No you can't and if I catch you trying to take them off I'll kick you out first thing and you can go fight the Shredder on your own." I stormed away from the table and over to the living room to help April with Mikey.

It was a long and complicated process of forming the cast around my baby brother's leg but once it was positioned correctly, wrapped in liquid fiber glass and held together with padding, he should fully heal in a matter of weeks. He had woken up during the operation and even though I was glad to see him alive and healthy, I wished he could pass out again so I wouldn't have to hear his mouth run. After everything was done, April cleaned up the mess while I made sure everything was in place.

"How long am I ganna have to wear this thing?" Mikey asked in a whiny voice.

"Until your leg isn't broken anymore, but don't worry; now you'll have an excuse to play video games all day." I gave him a reassuring smile and stood up off the floor. "Well that should do it."

"Good, now hand me that controller over there." He pointed to a little black controller lying on the floor next to the PlayStation. As badly as I wanted to walk away, a happy Mikey was better than a bored Mikey. I picked it up for him and even turned the TV on too. He better not get used to this kind of behavior from me though, or anyone in that matter.

"Are we ready to talk yet?" Erasmus asked. "We're wasting valuable time."

"Is that Erasmus?" Mike asked. "I thought he died."

"No Mikey, he's alive and well." I sighed and left the living room. "Alright, I have no idea where Casey and Master Splinter are."

"Raph said they went out to do a few training exercises." April stated.

"We cannot wait for them to return. Shredder is probably mobilizing his forces as we speak!" Karai pounded her fist on the table. "We must go now!"

"Easy Karai, we don't even have a plan yet." Erasmus said in a calm voice.

"I wish your friends would hurry up and get back so we could come up with one!" Karai said to me but was looking at Erasmus at the time, since she was blinded by her headband.

"I know what we're going to do first. Where's Raphael?" Erasmus pondered.

"I'll get him…" April turned broadside and took a deep breath. "RAPHAEL!"

"OW I am right here you know?!" Karai growled and a small grin made itself visible on April's face.

"What do yah want!" Our hotheaded brother called down the stairs.

"Get down here!" As if his life depended on it, Raph obeyed immediately and came stomping down the steps. For some reason, he always listened to April but whether it was the fact that she scared him, or the fact that he was polite to women I would never know, but it worked every time.

"Erasmus is going to speak now."

"I aint listenin to their Foot mouths run." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Raphael please! If you just try and understand then maybe we all can stop hating each other!...even though that's really hard for me." Erasmus sounded so sincere when he spoke. If there's one thing you have to know about Foot ninja, it's that it's really easy to tell if their lying to you or not. So this one Foot ninja in particular, was either a really really good liar, or, he was actually telling the truth.

"Fine, but just cuz I'm listenin doesn't mean I'm takin it into consideration." He huffed and took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Can you hear alright over there?" I yelled to Mikey.

"Oh yeah, I can hear Raph's usual complaints and stupid comebacks just fine." Mike snickered.

"Shut up before I break yah other leg...and both yah arms!" Raph huffed again and looked at April and me in the eyes. "Well get on with it!"

Erasmus proceeding and told Raphael the exact same story he told me. This time he was extra detailed about his escape from the collapsed lair and his battles against Hun and the Foot at Karai's side. He said that Karai and he had felt the winds of change ever since they made the hard decision to publically turn against their Master, the Shredder.

"Fighting the Foot was hard, and fighter Hun was even more difficult still." He said while Karai showed a spot on her upper arm where a sword blade had just barley pierced her skin. "We almost didn't even make it out alive if it wasn't for the safety of the sewers, but we knew we would have to face them again or risk being hunted down by them for the rest of our lives."

"So you're actually ganna to go and kill Shredder, your Master and father for 15 years?" Raph seemed to understand them but still didn't 100% trust that they really did abandon the one that we hate so dearly. It was easier for me to see the truth in them because I had seen the look on their faces as they pleaded for my help in the pharmacy.

"Yes, we are going to take down him and the Purple Dragons too." Karai sounded confident, making Raph crack a smile.

"And everyone is really huntin yah down?"

"Yes, would you like us to go topside and prove it?" Erasmus offered but he was only trying to make a point which is why my hotheaded brother's next statement was out of line.

"Actually…" I shot Raph a look as he leaned back in his chair and chuckled. "I would."

"What, you're serious?" Our "other brother" looked surprised along with the petite Foot ninja.

"I agree with Raph…" I nodded my head. "Let's do that."

"You turtles are nothing but a bunch of entertainment hungry fools!" Karai cried out. "You truly wish to see us get tormented by our assassins?! What kind of monsters are you?!"

"Hey if anything goes wrong we'll jump in and help wont we Donnie?" Raph laughed.

"If we reveal ourselves to them then that gives them the chance to warn the Shredder of our position!" Karai looked furious.

"Deal." Now it was our turn to be shocked. Even Karai turned her head in the direction she thought he was in and scowled. "Under one condition though. Once you see that everyone really is trying to murder us, we head straight to the Foot building to pick up a few things."

"What kind of things?" Raph sounded interested.

"Weapons. We can use them against our enemies and disarm them at the same time. I was heading over there to get them to fight you guys with but obviously, that didn't happen."

"Weapons eh? We talking tiny, little toys or manly chainsaws and stuff?" April face palmed at Raph's remark.

"I don't know. I never got the chance to open the boxes."

Raphael looked at me and gave the "It's up to you" kind of look. So Raph was in, probably only because he wanted some shiny new toys for his collection. Normally I would think a trip to the Foot building would be highly considered a trap, but if we take Karai and Erasmus out onto the street and they get attacked, then we'll now that these two aren't lying to us.

"What about Splinter?" Mikey called out. "AND ME?!"

"I can stay here with Michelangelo." April offered. "I'm thinking that you guys should leave without Splinter knowing. I think it would be best if I made something up to save him the stress."

"April has a point." Karai grinned.

"Oh shut up Karai." So who do you think just said that? I'll give you a hint: Apparently Foot siblings fight as much as regular siblings do even if they are step-brother and sister.

"You two fight a lot?" April asked.

"Yes, but we do not fight like normal teenagers would. If Erasmus gets on my bad side I simply pull out my katana and try to kill him or lock him in the penthouse until he can figure out how to escape. Sometimes jumping off the side of the building is the only way." Karai smiled deviously.

"And you thought Raph and I were bad!" Mike laughed.

"So is it a deal or not?" Erasmus got us back on track. I rested my hand underneath my chin and pondered. Worst that could happen was we all get murdered by Foot and Dragon goons but best that could happen was maybe, just maybe, we all could actually take down the Shredder and restore peace to New York City and free Erasmus and Karai from his death grip.

"So you really think we shouldn't tell Splinter?" I asked April.

"Hey, that's just me, do whatever you want."

"We will thanks." Erasmus gave a half smile. It looked like everyone was warming up to each other rather quickly which was nice I suppose.

"No need to be a noob about it." April "tskd" and walked over to the living room.

"I hate lying to Splinter but April has a point. He might not even let us go if he realizes that we're teaming up with two ex-Foot ninja and risking our lives to kill our arch nemesis."

"So don't tell Splinter it is?" Raph rubbed his hands together and stood up. "Do yah think I can fight some bad guys too? I'm ganna go insane if I don't punch someone's face in soon."

"I'm sure you can join in once you realize we're telling the truth. Wow this is very ironic! So you see how hard it is for someone to believe you? I hope you won't hold it against me that I didn't trust you guys the first time." Erasmus tightened his lips.

"Eh, what are brothers for?"

"To watch get crushed by Dragon goons and Foot ninja?!" Karai was definitely, not liking this idea one bit. Even though she seemed to be anti-Shredder, she still had a little kick to her.

"Yeah, pretty much. Now let's go." Raph pulled the chairs out from underneath them, making them stand up abruptly. "I have a feeling I'm _really_ ganna enjoy this."

**Get ready for things to kick off in the next chapter! Thanks for all the reviews guys!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Happy Holidays! Since it is the Holiday season and I'm spending time with family and stuff, I will probably get a chapter up every **_**other **_**day until the New Year or I might even finish this story before then but who knows. Hope you guys don't mind it too much . **

: Chapter 16: **(Third Person POV)**

Donatello, Raphael, Erasmus and Karai, seemed to be the only ones who were roaming this end of the City at night.

"It's too quiet down here; let's go to the upper end." Raphael stood impatiently as Karai looked through a pair of Donatello's binoculars. Her body slowly turned in circles as she checked the surroundings for any signs of Hun or the Foot ninja.

"I am surprised they are not here." She admitted. "It is possible that the Shredder has most of his Ninja scattered close to the Foot building."

"Then why are we down here?!" Raph growled.

"If we start a fight too close to the Shredder and we're not prepared…" Erasmus began but didn't find the need to finish his sentence.

"Then how are we supposed to get the supplies yah were talkin about?!"

"We'll sneak in, obviously." Erasmus rolled his eyes. "Amateur."

"Hey!" Raph walked up to him and grabbed ahold of his carapace. "I aint no amateur and if yah want us to help yah with the Shredder yah better keep your yap shut Foot boy!" He pushed him backwards, perhaps a bit too hard as Erasmus lost his footing on the edge of the roof and went plummeting straight to the ground.

"Erasmus!" Karai dropped the binoculars and ran to the edge as fast as she could. "Erasmus!" She peered over the edge, hoping to not see her brother splattered on the sidewalk.

"Raph what's your problem!" Don joined Karai and looked down on the street for his fallen brother. "Uh Oh."

Erasmus was clinging onto the ledge of a window that was on the building. He was beginning to lose his grip though and the drop from where he was would definitely kill him if he fell. Not only that, but all the screaming and yelling had attracted the attention of a satellite group of Purple Dragons.

"So they are here." Karai said.

"Yah we'll worry about that later ok?" Erasmus let go of the ledge with one hand so he could see below him. "We have to get them before they warn Hun."

"Here, grab my hand." Don reached out for his brother. He looked at it and crinkled his brow. "Come on, you can trust me."

Erasmus looked back down at the Dragons below who were chanting and holding up their weapons. Some of them had crowbars while others had steel pipes and bats. Only one in the crowd though, appeared to have a firearm as he pointed it up the building and aimed right at Erasmus.

"Meet me at the bottom!" He said and then let go of the hand that was holding onto the ledge and went crashing to the ground. Instead of landing on the hard sidewalk, he landed on top of the armed Dragon and gracefully pulled out his katana and began to fight the gang.

"Erasmus you idiot!" Karai yelled and then took off for the fire escape on the side of the building. "Come on he needs help!" She waved on the other two turtles.

"Forget it!" Raph crossed his arms.

"May I remind you that you are the one who pushed him off the roof?! If he dies, you die!" Karai jumped onto the fire escape and ran down as fast as she could.

"I'm sure he can handle himself."

"Raph let's go!" Don pushed his stubborn brother down the escape and then quickly followed him after. When they all finally reached the bottom, Erasmus had just finished kicking the last Dragon in the stomach and sending him flying across the street.

"Told yah." Raph grunted.

"You owe me!" The black clad turtle sheathed his weapons and grabbed ahold of his temperamental brother. "You owe me for pushing me off the roof and…" He gestured to the 6 or 7 dragons that were lying unconscious on the ground. "I passed your stupid test."

"I wouldn't say you passed just yet." Don pulled out his Bo-Staff and got the attention of his team. "They must have called in for backup." Another group was approaching them in the distance but instead of just Purple Dragons, they were mixed in with some Foot ninja too.

"Foot and Dragons workin together? Now I've seen it all." Raph pulled out the Sai's from his belt and spun them in the air.

"See? We told you they were after us. They're working together to kill the both of us." Karai also pulled out her sword along with Erasmus.

"So we're all on the same side now?" He asked his two brothers as he carefully eyed the approaching ninja.

"Yeah, I think we can agree on that." Don said.

Once the hoard of Foot enemies got close enough, they stopped and simply stood still and looked at the group. Some even chuckled under their breath as they pulled out their weapons and stepped over the bodies that were already lying on the ground.

"It's too late to come crawling back." The one who was presumed the leader spoke. "Shredder will not take you in again. We have direct orders to destroy you on sight and…hey, you even brought those turtle freaks with you."

"Hey! Those are my brothers you're talking about!" Erasmus growled and crossed his katana over each other.

"Then you fit right in don't you Erasmus?" The hoard of 20 or so Foot and Dragon goons laughed together. "You might as well give up now, these men you just defeated…" The leader pointed to all the bodies. "They sent out a signal to all the clans that were patrolling the City looking for you two. Luckily, we were close enough to get here before you could run away like the cowards that you are."

"Who's running away?" Karai grinned and held her sword close to her shoulders.

"_You_ will be, once the others get here." He chuckled.

"Too bad we won't be here when they do." Erasmus was the one to begin the fight. He jumped out ahead of his team and met the leader of the Foot and Dragons. They would brawl together while everyone else fought in a circle around them.

"Finally, some action!" Raph and the others charged for the ninja and started to take them down quite easily. At one point, Donatello had become inscribed by 4 Dragons but he swung his Bo-Staff over his head and knocked them all out with a few twists.

"Piece of Ca- UMPH!" He was suddenly smacked in the shell form behind and got sent flying into Erasmus where they ultimately landed against the wall of a building.

"Don!" Erasmus pushed the purple clad turtle off his shell just in time to block a punch from the leader who had followed them. "Go help the others!" He called out while kicking the leader in the gut.

Without question, Don ran back out onto the street and sacked a goon with his Bo-Staff that had Karai almost pinned to the floor. She nodded at him as to say "thanks" and then ran off to take out another villain.

"Wow…Karai just…thanked me?" Don pondered.

"That's nice Don, but maybe you could stop thinkin and start helpin!" Two Foot ninja charged at Raph from either side with their swords ready to slice him in half. As they went for the swing, he jumped up into the air and made the Foot hit each other instead. Their heads smacked together and they slowly fell to the ground in a big heap of defeat.

"Nice." Don gave his brother a thumbs up while jabbing another Dragon from behind with his staff.

"Likewise Bro."

A few Foot ninja pulled out a few long tubes and aimed them at Donatello. "Crap! They have dart guns!" He used his duffel bag to block the darts and then smack the tubes out of their hands. "Nevermind." He jumped into the air and kicked both his legs out to the side, knocking the two Foot on their backs.

"HIyaah!" Karai landed on top of a Dragon's head and wrapped her legs around his neck. She bent her body backwards, making the goon's body flip over top of her's and land a few yards away. Her head snapped to the side and she quickly checked to see if her brother was alright. He had sheathed his swords and was constantly dodging kicks and punches form the leader. Why wasn't he fighting him?!

"Erasmus!" Karai grew curious as to why he wasn't fighting back and only using defense. But Erasmus ignored her and continued to flip out of the way as the leader kept throwing offensive attacks. Right when she was about to intervene and show him how to do it, she noticed the leader was beginning to slow down and grow weary. Erasmus didn't have to make as much effort to dodge his attacks anymore and slowly but surely, the leader stopped and bent over to catch his breath.

"Need a moment to catch your breath? Maybe you should you lay down for a while" Erasmus grinned and swung his knee right into the leaders gut, sending him flying back a few yards and into a few of his Dragon friends.

A high pitched whistle came from behind them where Don and Raph were clapping their hands.

"I gotta admit it; the guy can really take out scum." Raph smirked.

The rest of the Dragon and Foot paused and looked to their leader who was still lying unconscious on the street. They looked to each other, then at the mutant team, and then took off down the road in a retreat.

"Hey! I wasn't finished!" Raph started to chase after them but Erasmus grabbed ahold of his shell before he could. "Come on! Get back here and fight!"

"Raphael, we have to go before the others come. Remember what they said?" Erasmus looked his brother in the eye.

"Yeah…sure."

"Come on, this way." Karai led the group back into the alley and up the fire escape. They ran across the rooftops in the opposite direction of the foot building until they reached the end of Manhattan Island. The light from the full moon was resting on the tops of the waves from the ocean and illuminating the sea for miles.

"Alright, so you were tellin the truth." Raph sighed and sat down on the edge and took a few deep, long breaths. For a while the group just stood in silence as their brains began to register about what to do next. "You know, this is one of my favorite places to sit whenever I need to get away from my annoyin family." The lights from the Brooklyn Bridge were so relaxing to Raphael. He loved to watch the cars cross the bridge and the sounds of the horns as some lunatic probably cut them off. "It's just distinctly New Yorker yah know?"

"Aww Raph." Don patted his brother's back and giggled.

"Oh shut up. We all got our special places to run away to." He sighed.

"I've never been out here before. It's really nice." Erasmus smiled as he looked across the bridge and listened to the sounds of the cars and the screams of the wind as it ran across the water.

"Yeah well, I guess we better hold up our end of the deal now." Raph stood up and dusted off his hands. "So what's the plan?"

"The Foot building has the latest devices in security restrictions. As if getting inside wasn't hard enough, there are thousands of traps and Foot ninja lurking the walls and walkways every minute. If we do manage to get past the security systems, we would have to split up that way if one of us gets caught, it can distract the Foot teams so the other three can get the supplies and run." Karai stood up straight and rolled her shoulders back.

"You can leave the amateur security junk to me." Don patted his duffel bag and grinned. "I can stay outside and work out all the kinks in the Shredder's systems while you three get inside and grab what you need."

"Will you be able to disarm all the hidden traps inside? Baxter Stockman programmed them himself and when it comes to unbreakable security, he's the guy to beat." Karai frowned.

"Oh please, to me, Baxter Stockman is nothing more than an untrained, college intern. I can crack his databases, but I have to get close to the building first and you three will have to get into his laboratory and put a virus into the system so I can manipulate it." Don pulled out a small USB drive from his duffel bag and handed it to Karai.

"Stockman never leaves his laboratory; we'll have to take him down too." Erasmus said.

"Don't yah think Shredder would have that good for nothing bug working on something to take you two out with?" Raph questioned.

"There is a good chance that Mr. Stockman is with the Shredder but we cannot be sure. Once we insert the virus, Stockman will be able to locate it in a matter of minutes." Karai said.

"So take down bug face first, and then insert the virus so Don can get us in." Raph smiled.

"That's how it's going to have to work. The supplies we're looking for are going to be kept on the top floor, Shredder's mastery room. I know because Karai used to push me off it all the time." Erasmus dodged a punch from his sister.

"Where did you land when she pushed you off?" Don suddenly grew interested in the subject.

"The balcony a few floors down…why?"

"That's your way out. You get in, get the weapons and jump off the roof down to the balcony level."

"Good thinking Don. That could work."

"So it's settled then?" Raph crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's settled, we leave immediately but we must not go straight through the City. We will run along the Hudson River to keep ourselves from being seen." Karai stated.

"Alright, let's do this." Erasmus put his hand into the circle. Karai placed her's on top of his and then stared at Don and Raph. They looked at each other and then placed their hands on top of the others. "Whisper "Turtle and Karai power" on three. 1…2…3…"

"Turtle and Karai power." They threw their arms into the air and then took off for the Hudson River having no idea what could be in store for them at the terrible place that caused them all so much misery for nearly 15 years.


	17. Chapter 17

: Chapter 17: **(Erasmus's POV)**

"There it is, home sweet home." I sighed as we looked up into the well lit tower of the Foot.

"I'm gettin the creeps just lookin at it." Raph said.

"Alright, is Donatello in place?" I asked Raphael. He pulled out a small green device and punched a few things that made it beep. "What's that?"

"Shell cell, never leave home without one." He smiled and held the cell to the side of his head. "Donnie? Wait wait, slow down." Raph's expression worsened as his conversation with Donatello dragged on. "What do yah mean?!"

"Raph what's going on?" I said in a concerned tone. He dropped the phone to his neck and mouthed a few words but I couldn't understand what he was saying. "Raph!"

"SHH!" He said to me. "It's Splinter and Casey, they found Don."

"What can we do to help?" Karai asked. Raph hung up the phone and looked at us.

"Splinter is askin Don loads of questions about what's goin on. I gotta get over there and help him out. He said he was able to get the Foot's firewalls down but you two are ganna have to go in on yah own. I'll be back to help yah out once we're in the clear." Raph handed me the Shell Cell and then took off running off the roof we were on.

"Raph wait!"I ran after him but it was too late, he was already gone. "They said they were going to help us!"

"Erasmus, I think it is best that we do this part of the mission on our own. We know the outline of the Foot building and we can get in and out faster than they can." Karai grabbed my arm and tugged. "Come, we must go." She pulled out a grappling hook from her belt and swung it over her head. After she threw it at the building, it caught onto a ledge and locked in place. "Here." She handed me the other end and crawled across the rope upside down. Once she was across and safely on the ledge, I swung over and landed gracefully next to her.

"Let's hope Donatello got those firewalls down." I pulled the hook off the ledge and used it to cut a hole through the thin window glass. "Ready?" I looked at Karai and watched as she quickly wiped beads of sweat off her forehead. "1…2…" I pushed in the circle cut I just made and prepared myself for the alarm to sound, but it didn't. The glass was about to fall onto the floor but I caught it just in time, and laid it out on the ledge.

"He did it." Karai smiled.

"Good, now we need to get that virus installed and we're good to go."

"Leave that to me Erasmus. We'll split up and while I head to Baxter's lab, you will go to either the storage room or the upper level. The weapons will be kept in one of those rooms. Once you get there wait for my signal." She jumped into the building through the small opening and I quickly followed after her.

"What will the signal be?" I asked.

"Oh you'll know it when you see it. Good luck brother." She nodded at me and then took off running down the hall.

"Alright…although you'll need it more than I will." I said to myself and let the outlook of the building register in my mind before I finally ran to the left where I knew the storage room was. I hope Karai can get the virus uploaded without any trouble, that trouble being Baxter Stockman.

The storage room was easier to find then I thought it would be. It was also unguarded which was a little strange. Then again, most of the Purple Dragons and Foot ninja are out in the City looking for Karai and me. She said to wait for the signal but maybe I could get in without the virus. I put my hand on the large brass handle and tightened my grip around it. Patience Erasmus, patience. The only thing we didn't go over is what happens if she got caught and I never get the signal? I'll give her 10 minutes, usually Karai can complete a task very quickly so if she isn't done by then, I'll know something went wrong.

**:: (Third Person POV)**

Getting to Baxter's laboratory was no easy task and since Karai was only ever down there one time, she found it very difficult to locate the stupid place. She remembered watching Erasmus leave the Shredder's lair and go to meet him after their "father" had told them they had been demoted to helping that stupid swine again. That's where she would head and follow his tracks the best she could. As she carefully walked through the halls, she noticed how quiet the building was, very unlike the Shredder. Did he know they were coming and was he planning a surprise attack? Only time would tell but right now, she found the elevator to the laboratory and it was time to descend.

The ride down was a long and nerve racking one. She hid behind the walls of the elevator so when the doors slid open, no one would see her.

"Huh?" She heard Baxter's voice emerge from within the laboratory. "Is someone there?" His voice was getting louder as he came closer to the elevator. She had to think of a plan, but her heart was beating to fast and her brain seemed to be shattering into a million pieces.

"Hiyaah!" She jumped out from behind the walls and threw herself upon Stockman. He cried out and was thrown right out of his wheelchair and onto the floor. "Do not call for help!" She held her sword to his neck and growled.

"Easy Mistress!" He held his hands up in defense and started to whine and cry. "What the Hell Karai, Shredder has half the world population out looking for you!"

"I know this Stockman."

"Why did you come back?"

"We are here to retrieve something; it is also none of your concern." She held the sword closer to his neck, making him swallow hard.

"Is it true? Have you and Erasmus really rebelled against the Shredder? Are you really going to try and defeat him!?" He smiled with delight, making Karai move her weapon to a safe distance.

"Who told you this?"

"Shredder held a meeting after Hun returned saying you and Erasmus went haywire and we're planning to return and end that miserable beast's life. He sent nearly all his ninja out on patrol along with Hun's goons."

"I already know about these happenings Stockman!"

"Yes, but do you know that I am for your decision? If you two take out the Shredder I can finally be free!" Baxter smiled and laughed.

"Silence!"

"Yes Mistress. I am willing to help you take him out in return for my freedom. This is no scam my dear, I will even give you the bomb that Shredder wanted me to enhance for him in order to take you both out."

"A bomb?!" Karai shrieked.

"Yes Yes, here let me up." Karai got up off Stockman, with her sword still close, and helped him back into his wheelchair. He rolled over to his desk and picked up a small silver object.

"Why…that is the device that Shredder had me pick up for him from the highflyers." Karai took it in her hand and gasped. "It was a bomb?"

"Well now it's practically a miniature H-Bomb. This baby can wipe out the entire Foot building from head to toe in a matter of Nano seconds." Baxter straightened his posture in triumph.

"Yet you agreed to build it for him?" Karai scowled.

"Because I didn't know if you two were really coming back or not! If I went against the Shredder's orders again he said he would take my head off!"

"Well you can live up to your reputation Stockman." Karai pulled the USB that Don had given her, out of her pocket and handed it to Baxter. "I need this device uploaded, that way we can break into the storage room and take the new delivery of weapons." He took the little chip and laughed at it.

"Where did you acquire such a premature virus? My viruses can get you anywhere you want in this God forsaken building without even being detected." He threw the device across the room and rolled over to his computer. "Shredder won't even know what hit him unless I told him. Now, you wanted the weapons right? Those are in the storage chamber on the 6th floor."Baxter typed in a few things into his computer and inserted a small microchip into the side of it. "Just a few more tweaks and…your in. The storage doors are open now hurry before someone notices."

"Erasmus is already in position but I will join him and make the load a bit lighter." Karai sheathed her sword and took off for the elevator.

"Wait Karai!" Stockman threw the silver device into Karai's hands and winked. "When will you be planning on killing the Shredder? I want to get out of here before you plan on deploying that bomb."

"Who says I will need to use this?"

"Just in case Karai…just in case. It was a pleasure working with you, but I'm outta here for good and thank you for your help." He pressed a button on his computer that opened up a door underneath him, making him fall to God knows where.

"I do not see why the Shredder had any use for that lunatic."Karai rolled her eyes and hoped into the elevator. On the way up, she tossed the little, silver bomb around in her hands and dreamed off all the terrible things she couldn't wait to make the Shredder endure.

**:: (Erasmus's POV)**

"That's it I'm going in." I shook my head and went to push the door open but before I could, it opened on its own. I pulled out my weapons thinking someone had opened it room the inside but that apparently wasn't the case. I poked my head in and looked for any signs of the Foot or Dragons but the room was completely empty except for the boxes upon boxes of weapons and supplies.

"Trippy…"

"I'll say." A voice came from behind me and I nearly chopped off Raphael's head from the fright it gave me.

"RAPH!"

"Easy scaredy turtle." He chuckled and pushed my katana away from his face.

"I thought you were out helping…" My sentence got cut off as Don suddenly came running down the hall out of breath.

"Don?!" Raph and I said at the same time.

"Karai didn't get my virus uploaded." He said slowly.

"Then how did the door open?" I asked as he pulled out a small computer looking thing from his bag and examined it.

"I'm picking up traces of a motherboard virus. Only Baxter Stockman would have access to something like that."

"What are yah saying Don?" Raph crossed his arms.

"Baxter is probably in his laboratory with Karai. She either beat the hell out of him and got a different virus uploaded, or Stockman uploaded unconditionally.

"Why would that swine upload a virus without question?!" Raph yelled.

"Stockman hates the Shredder's ass. There's a good chance he might be helping us in order for him to escape." I hated to admit it, but I think that's probably what happened. I don't think Karai would have been able to kill Baxter on her own, only because he's practically a genius and would be able to take her out with only a feather and a pasta noodle if he could. "We can worry about that later though, for now, let's get what we need and head out."

I led everyone inside cautiously and once I gave them the all clear, they began to look through the supplies and find anything that could be useful. Once and awhile you would hear Raphael go "Oooh yeah!" or "Hello baby!" as he happily found things of interest.

"Find anything Don?" I walked over to the purple clad turtle.

"Check it out!" He pulled out some kind of dart gun with a really sharp needle at the end of it. "I saw some of the Foot ninja's using these. So this is where they got them?"

"Is there any ammo for it?" I asked.

"No, but I could easily whip up some tranquilizers to shoot through this bad boy." He held the scope up to his eye and looked around the room. "Neat-O"

"Don't get to trigger happy with that thing Donnie."

"Relax Le…"

He gave me a confused expression and then apologized. When I asked him for what he said for calling me by the wrong name.

"I know it's hard to be called one thing for 15 years and then suddenly have to be called the other, so I've been trying to call you Erasmus instead of Leonardo." He confessed.

"It's alright Don, you can call me whatever you want."

"Hey guys check it out!" Raph pulled out a crossbow and pointed it at the Foot flag above the door. He made a perfect shot to the point it was attached to the wall and sent it falling down on top of Karai. "Oops."

"Karai!" I ran over to her and helped pull the flag off. "How did things go?" I asked while throwing the flag away from us.

"Baxter Stockman is on our side, or at least he says he is." She growled at Raphael as he walked over.

"Was he the one that opened the door?" Don asked.

"Yes, he said your virus was "premature" too." She smiled.

"Well, that's nice." He frowned.

"Have we anything of use here?" Karai looked around and then stopped next to the pile of weapons that Raphael had been accumulating. "We cannot haul all of these things with us."

"Come on! We got Crossbows, grenade launchers and there's even a frickin bazooka in that pile!" Raph complained.

"It is too heavy. We must take only the essentials." She nodded.

"Alright…bazooka it is!" Raph rubbed his hands together and grabbed a huge, bulky gun from his pile.

"Erasmus…" Karai grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side. "This is from Stockman." She handed me a familiar looking silver object. "Do you remember?"

"Yeah." I grabbed it from her and examined its shiny surface. "What is it?"

"The Shredder had me pick it up for him but he never told me why. After you left and never returned, he told me he was going to us it to destroy you. Now that I have rebelled as well, he was going to us it on the both of us." Her eyes were filled with worry and sorrow.

"That still doesn't tell me what it is."

"It is a bomb, enhanced my Stockman himself."


	18. Chapter 18

: Chapter 18: **(Don's POV)**

The Shredder's storage room was a geeky turtle's dream. Every single weapon you could imagine, could be found somewhere in this little, old room. I would be able to make good use of this dart gun when we got back to the lair, that is, if we ever get back to the lair. Karai and Leo have been over in the corner by themselves for almost 7 whole minutes. Being the snoopy person I was I tip toed over and hid behind a crate so I could listen to their conversation without being seen. With my luck though, they had finished by the time I made it over.

"Everything alright?" Raph asked the two of them when they returned to the middle of the room. "Yah know when yah walk off like that it looks like your ganna plan a sneak attack or something." Raph chuckled as if he knew they wouldn't do something like that to us, when considering the odds, I'm sure they would.

"Actually, we were." Erasmus smiled. "But not on you guys, on the Shredder."

"Go on…" Raph put his hands behind his back and grinned.

"Do you know what this is?" Karai pulled a small silver disc out from behind her back and held it out to us. I swiped it from her hand and examined it closely.

"Looks like some sort of…" I rolled it over in my hands but there were no clues to what the heck it was. It was a solid, round, silver surface that was it. "I have no idea." I gave up and handed it back to her.

"This is a very weak Hydrogen Bomb, made by Baxter Stockman himself." She bounced it up and down in her hands. "When he gave it to me, he told me it would be able to wipe out the entire Foot building."

"Yeah and probably half the City!" Raph yelled.

"No, it is only strong enough to wipe out this building, or at least that is what Stockman said." Karai raised her shoulders.

"Donnie…" Raph looked at me for a further explanation.

"Well, "H-Bombs" are extremely powerful. Hydrogen atoms collide together at full speed making an entire explosion occur. Not to mention that an extremely rare and illegal compound is used to deploy the entire thing. With that being said, there's no way it can be considered "weak" if it's a whole stinkin hydrogen bomb in itself." I hated to be the bringer of bad news.

"Listen Donatello, this is Baxter Stockman we're talking about here. If he has the ability to create such a weapon than he most certainly will. Whether perhaps he is lying somewhat we will not know until this thing is deployed." Karai said.

"So yah wanna blow up the entire Foot building?" Raph asked.

"May I remind you that the Shredder was going to use this on us?!" Karai gestured to her and Leo.

"So since the Shredder was _thinkin _about killin yah two with a bomb, let's destroy a whole building and all the goons in it in exchange?!...Let's do it."

"Raph!" I hit him on the shoulder and growled. "You have to at least give us time to evacuate the building. Innocent people could be working in here."

"Anyone who's working for the Foot isn't innocent." Erasmus frowned.

"And yet, your here." I growled, very unlike me. I just wasn't up for the idea of completely destroying the entire Foot building. Perhaps these lunatics seemed to have forgotten that the Foot building is right in the middle of one of the most populated portions of Manhattan?! Once the structure goes Boom, it's going to fall down and crush hundreds of people in the process!

"I'm not up for it." I admitted. "You're going to kill hundreds of innocent people. Hydrogen bombs are extremely powerful no matter how strong or weak they are."

"Then let's lure the Shredder to a safe distance." Raph suggested.

"Like where exactly? It's not like one end of the City is less populous than the other?!" I threw my hands in the air in an outrage.

"What about over the water?" Erasmus stated. "Like the Hudson."

Everyone looked at me with confused and prominent expressions.

"Well…I suppose the water could deflect the inferno from the explosion, but still, it could send water right into Manhattan and flood it." Wherever there's good news, there's always bad news.

"The Hudson is wide enough, I think it could work." Erasmus tried desperately to get everyone to agree with him and by the looks of their faces, it was working. "Don?"

I sighed and rubbed my temples. I was sick and tired of making stupid decisions all week, then again, this wasn't _my_ stupid decision. "Alright, but here's the deal…" Everyone leaned in close to hear what I had to say. "The Hudson and Mohawk River are both watersheds, so that means wherever they collide will be the largest and widest area. Sadly, they collide somewhere in upper northwest New York so we're going to have to head down to the south end of Manhattan where they drain into the New York Bay."

"So take the Bomb and The Shredder to the Bay and finish them off, sounds simple enough." Raph rubbed his hands together.

"Something bad always happens when someone says that." Karai planted her hand on her forehead and sighed.

"First we need to find the Shredder." Erasmus said. "I have an idea where we can start looking."

**:: (Third Person POV)**

"This is squadron to base, no sign of Karai or her Brother anywhere in the financial district." Hun slammed his fist on the dashboard of his car as the new report came in through his radio.

"Where are they!?" The driver of the car ducked out of the way as Hun's fist went whizzing over top of his head. "Keep searching! I want them back to me alive! Do you hear me?! ALIVE!" He screamed into the small microphone that was attached to the radio. "This is ridiculous! How hard can it be to find a mutant turtle and a preteen girl?!"

"Sir, no sign of the hostages in Central Park." Another report came in. Finally, the driver had enough and bolted out of the car just as Hun began to rip it to shreds.

"This is mahogany!" Hun forcefully pushed his huge body out of the car and slammed both his fists on the front end, making it collapse inward and spark a flame. "When I get my hands on those mutant assholes I'm going to pound them so hard their great great grandchildren are ganna feel it!" Hun reached into the car and pulled the radio out along with the microphone. "All units, you double check every crook and cranny you see! I want you in the sky, on the ground and in those God forsaken sewers too! Find Karai and Erasmus at all cost and you won't be leaving until you do!"

"You shouldn't be so mean to your Dragons, Hun. It'll come back to bite you in the butt afterwards."

Hun jumped around to find the voice that was coming from behind him but all he saw was darkness and a few pieces of trash rolling across the empty street. "Who said that?! I am not in the mood!"

"Good, then I caught you at a good time." Erasmus slowly walked out of an alley across the street with his head down and a tight grin on his face.

"Erasmus!" Hun pulled out his weapon and fired 3 shots right at the alley. When he lifted his head to hopefully see Erasmus lying on the ground in a pool of blood, no one was there. "What the…UMPH!" Hun went crashing onto the cement face first as a bone cracking blow came from behind him. His gun flew out of his hands and out of his reach and as he tried to reach for it, a heavy foot pounded on his back that made him lay still.

"Listen, Hun…" Erasmus's voice was cold and angry. "You want to end this don't you? Tell Shredder to meet Karai and me at the Financial District at midnight and we'll talk there. Or we could blow each other's brains out…your choice." Before leaving, Erasmus forcefully pushed his leg into Hun's back, making him yelp and cry out from the pain. He got up as fast as he could so he could turn around and sock Erasmus right in the stomach but he was gone before he could.

"When we defeat you and your pathetic sister, I'll be the one to finish you off Erasmus, I will be the one!"

Erasmus ran as fast as he could despite the fact that the frosty wind was piercing his skin and making it grow numb. They had 3 hours before they had to be at the financial district to meet Shredder. In order to make it not look like a trap, even though it was, they were going to meet close to the lower end and then lure Shredder to the Bay. The most dangerous part of the plan was planting the bomb and then getting out before it exploded and vaporized all of them. Don was going to put a few touches on the device and make it magnetic so it would stick to the Shredders metal platted armor. The plan seemed full proof, but bad things were bound to happen. After all, this is they Shredder they're talking about, not just some gloomy street thug or even Hun. They would have to play it smart or risk being killed in the process.

When Erasmus got back to the lair, via Donatello's directions, an unfamiliar face was there waiting for him along with everyone else. He walked in slowly as a strange rat-like creature glared up at him in awe.

"Leo, I want you to meet Master Splinter, although you two have already met, a while ago anyway." Don urged the creature forward whose eyes were fixated on Leo's. It was strange; he couldn't seem to take his eyes off him either even after he could tell Karai was trying to get his attention.

"Uh…Hello?" Leo didn't know what to say, he seemed to be lost for words. "You look more familiar now that I've got a better look at you."

"I cannot believe it…" Little sharp teeth bore as the mutant rat smiled and wrapped his arms around Leo's plastron with tears infiltrating his eyes. Not knowing what to do, Leo simply wrapped his arms back around the little, furry body and smiled.

"You must be this "Master Splinter" everyone is talking about." He chuckled.

"It fills me with such anger when I think about what the Shredder has done to you, such a student with such potential. It's a shame that it was used on the Shredders evil doings. Even though you do not remember me, I remember you and I promise we will catch up as much as we can and I will teach you what you should have been taught 15 years ago and on." He promised.

"You're wrong…even though I don't remember everything, I remember some things and I think your one of those things Sensei."

"Oh how I've missed you Leonardo."

"THAT'S SO SWEET!" Michelangelo cried out from on the couch.

"Shut up bonehead." Raph and Casey said together. Splinter finally let go of his son and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"The prodigal son returns." April smiled. "Hopefully he's here to stay too."

"I certainly plan on it once the Shredder is out of the question." He smiled.

"Speakin of the Shredder, I hear you guys are planning a little shang bang and yah didn't invite me." Casey crossed his arms over his chest.

"You kiddin? Everyone's invited! Except Mikey." Raph chuckled.

"I heard that!"

"You know I do not agree with you going up against the Shredder! He is a man of lies and devious ways, there is a great chance he will somehow make the battle unfair." Splinter said with a great deal of concern.

"Then let's even the odds. We could use all the help we can get so everyone can participate." Leo gestured to the team.

"I'm in." April nodded.

"April!" Casey began to protest but she shot him a death stare before he could. "Fine…"

"You know we're in bro, brothers till the end." Raph smiled. "Except Mikey cuz he's a cripple."

"My ears work perfectly fine yah jerk!" Mikey whined.

"Splinter?" Karai looked to the small, mutant rat.

"I will help you. I will do anything I can to free my son." He bowed.

"Then it's settled but first, we will need someone to lead us." Don smiled. "I'm not doing it anymore. I'm retiring."

"Leonardo, you were always meant to lead your brothers have you not been kidnapped as an infant. Of course, I am not forcing you to…"

"I'll do it." Leo agreed.

"Awesome!" Casey fist pumped the air. "Dude we gotta get yah some new trends!"

"Yah you could give Leo his bandana!" April suggested.

"It is up to you my son." Splinter looked to him.

"Sure, these clothes are a bit outdated anyway." He smiled and gratefully accepted his bandana, elbow and knee pads and a new set of katanas that Splinter had forged for his returned son himself. He got changed in the bathroom while everyone waited anxiously in the living room as the clock reached 11:00pm.

"Look at me…" Leo looked in the mirror and ran his fingers down the woolen cloth that wrapped around his eyes. "I feel so different." He said to himself. "Sooo…naked." His plastron was now fully visible along with his biceps and legs. "I guess it'll take some getting used to." His eyes were no longer red and were now a milky white color just like his brothers'. He looked down on the floor where his Foot uniform and black bandana were lying in a heap near the tub. He smiled with the satisfaction that he was now finally ready to take the hard and dangerous journey that would ultimately win his freedom.

**FanFiction was down for me yesterday and the day before. I don't know if it was just my computer or if it was the whole website. I even tried to upload this chapter on a different computer but it still didn't work :( Well its all ok now I guess. See you tomorrow!**


	19. Chapter 19

**I had this chapter in my doc manager but I forgot to actually upload it this morning. FORGIVE ME! :(**

: Chapter 19: **(Third Person POV)**

"It's five minutes until midnight…they should be here by now." Karai stood impatiently as Donatello peered through his binoculars and looked around the dark, gloomy City.

"Yeah, I don't know where they are either but we have to be prepared for anything." He told her. "Do you have the 'you know what'?"

"Yes, I have the bomb."

"SHH! We don't want the whole City knowing we have an illegal weapon in our procession!" He sighed and continued to peer through the binoculars. "We need a code word, something like…"

"How about…bomb?" Karai rolled her eyes. "Why must you complicate everything Donatello?" She was alone on this roof with him after Leo had sent them to scout the area and make sure they got a heads up to when the Shredder was arriving. Don had completed the reparations on the bomb so now all they needed to do was lure Shredder over the bay and take him out at a safe distance. They had no idea what armies he would bring with him or better yet, they didn't even know if he would show at all.

"See anything yet?" Karai asked Don.

"Not since the last time you asked…3 minutes ago."

"My apologies, I am just…nervous."

"You, nervous? Now I've heard it all." He fixed the focus on his binoculars and looked down onto the street below them. He would have sworn it looked like people were running around in a panic but at this distance, it was hard to tell. "I think we've got something Karai. Call Leo and let him know."

"Yes, I will call _Erasmus_ and let him know." She pulled out Donatello's shell cell from his duffel bag and punched in her brother's number. "Something is going on between Second and Third Street." She said after he picked up.

"Alright, I'll have Raph head down and take a look." Leo responded and then hung up his phone.

"What did he say?" Don asked her.

"He said he is sending your brother Raphael to examine the situation."

"Well I can clearly see the situation Karai!"

"He means in better detail." She crossed her arms over her chest. "If it turns out it is in fact the Shredder, we should prepare to head into phase two."

**::** **(Leo's POV)**

"Come on I wanna get out there and break some bones!" Casey Jones was on my last nerve. Try spending a whole hour alone with him and Raphael on a roof near the financial district, it'll drive you nuts. Thankfully, I sent Raph out to check on Donatello's SOS but now there was no one to entertain Casey while we waited for his return.

"Patience Casey Jones." I said to try and keep him from screaming too loudly. "Don't make me regret bringing you here. Wait for my signal and don't make any rash actions."

"That's weird comin' from an Ex-Foot ninja. Talk about Rash actions." He smirked.

"How about I throw you off the roof? Will that solve the problem?" I pointed down to the ground. Here I thought Casey and I would be able to get along, but I thought wrong. He and I are like polar opposites and if Raph didn't get back soon, Casey was going to find himself at an early grave.

"Hmm that sounds a lot like a rash action to me." He swung his hockey stick around his wrist and paced back and forth across the roof.

"It won't be rash because I've been thinking about doing it for the last hour!"

"You wanna go tuff guy? I've been wanting to thank you for kicking my butt at the Museum opening the other day." He started to slowly walk towards me. Even when his body was towering over mine, I kept the same expression on my face and held my ground against him. I wasn't going to be stood up by some human. "Come on, I'll even give you a head start."

"You're not on my list of priorities at the moment. Maybe some other time pal."

"Awww you afraid I'll hurt yah?"

I took a few deep breaths as Casey Jones continued to throw insults in my direction and push his face extremely close to mine. My Shredder raised side wanted to kick the snot out of him and sever his body into two equal pieces, but my Splinter raised side told me to be calm and wait for him to get bored of insulting me and walk off. Sadly, this is where 15 years of Foot training gets you; he didn't even see it coming either. My foot swung around and kicked him in the gut with what appeared to be at the speed of light. His body went flying back into the building's radiator and dented the whole thing inwards as he made contact with it. It felt good for about 3 seconds and then I went on an entire guilt trip for what I had just done. Especially when Raphael returned at the spur of the moment and saw what had happened.

"Raph…" I held my hands up in defense as he looked at Casey, then at me.

"You…" He pointed at me and then growled. "You lair! You aint one of us!"

"No Raph it wasn't like that!" I looked at Casey to try and get him to explain but he only smirked and pretended to be in heaping amounts of pain, which I'm sure he was. I did kick him pretty hard.

"I knew it, I knew yah didn't change! Yah plan on taking us out one by one eh?!" He pulled out his Sai's and advanced towards me. "Casey, warn Donnie that he's in trouble!" Raph tossed his shell cell over to him.

"Raph you have to believe me! I'm not against you!"

"Sure you aint…once a Foot always a Foot." He pointed the tips of his Sai's towards me and then leapt into the air. I couldn't find the will to pull my katana on him, not on my own brother. So I let him fall and pin me to the ground. The spaces between each of the three prongs on his weapons were large enough to cradle my wrists which were now pinned to the roof with them.

"Raph please! I don't want to fight you!"

"Admit your betrayal!" He demanded.

"To the Shredder?!"

"To us!"

"NO! Casey was just…" I began.

"Shut up!" He brought his fists into the air and brought them down right in the soft spot on my plastron. I felt the wind get knocked out of me and then unfathomable amounts of pain shot through my lungs and up to the back of my neck. I couldn't speak, even after I saw a dozen Foot dragons start to make their way over to us.

"Raph…" I tried my best to get out.

"I guess I didn't hit yah hard enough!" He brought his fists back into the air but this time a metal chain wrapped around them and pulled his body off of mine.

"Raph!" Casey tried to get up off the ground but he was instantly pinned against the damaged radiator by three of the thugs.

"Isn't this sad, I thought I was going to have a challenge when you told us to meet you here." That voice…it was so familiar it made the pain in my body be replaced by fear and anguish. I was helplessly pinned to the ground and now the Shredder was upon us.

"The Shredder?!" I wasn't sure why Casey sounded so surprised.

"I meant to tell yah that he was on his way, but this backstabber got me distracted!" Raph tried to lunge for me but the group of Dragons that had his hands chained pulled him back onto the ground.

"I must thank you Raphael for making Erasmus's demise so easy on me." Shredder chuckled malevolently as he walked towards me and placed his heavy, metal boot on my chest. "Where is Karai then?" He asked.

"I'm not telling you anything!" After I refused to talk, he pressed down harder on my already sore plastron and leaned in close to me.

"I asked you a question and you will answer!"

"I will not! You can do whatever you want to me but 'll never let you hurt her or anyone else in my family!" I growled. In the corner of my eye, I saw Casey's expression sadden as he looked to Raphael and sighed.

"Very well, then we will have her come to us then won't we?" He reached into my belt and pulled out my Shell Cell. "I see you've gotten comfortable in a new outfit haven't you? Too bad it won't matter for very long." He opened the device and ordered one of his goons to figure out the buttons. Once I heard Karai's voice on the other end, I felt the adrenalin pump through my body as I yelled for her to run as far away as she could. However, the impact of Shredder's foot on my body stopped my struggle until I had almost no fight left in me. My wrists were sore from Raphael's Sai's and now I felt like my plastron was going to crack open into a million pieces.

"Karai, there's a family meeting over here if you're in any mood to join. I'm sure you would like to be here to witness your brother's demise."

**:: (Don's POV)**

"Karai where are you going!" I ran after the slim girl as she jumped across the rooftops without telling me why she was in such a hurry. "Karai!" I suppose she finally got tired of me calling her name so she finally answered me after what seemed like the millionth time.

"It has begun!" Was all she said. "Here!" She threw my Shell Cell into the air and I barley caught it before it flew out of my reach. "You may want to warn April O'Neil and you're Sensei."

"You better not be playing around Karai." I opened the phone and dialed April's number. She picked up right away and I warned her best I could even though I had very little information to go on. "I think we're heading towards Leo's position. Meet us there but stay in the shadows just in case."

"Erasmus!" I suddenly heard Karai call out as I realized where we were going. I heard Leo yell back to her but I couldn't make out what he was saying considering the Shredder appeared to be on top of him. Karai was right, it really has begun. I took the little time we had until we reached our destination to examine what we were up against. It looked like it was about 4 dozen Purple Dragons and Foot ninja mixed together and the head of the pack was Shredder himself. Hun was absent, for the time being. I'm sure he was lurking somewhere close by.

"Good, now we can begin." Shredder said as Karai jumped into the air and landed on top of his shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his helmet and pulled his head backwards so he fell onto the ground and off of Leo.

"Leo?!" I was wondering why we wasn't getting up even though the weight was off him.

"Donatello! Free everyone if you can!" She called to me.

"Oh God..." I pulled out my Bow-Staff as all the Ninja's and Dragons turned to me with their weapons drawn. "Maybe we could talk this out?" I said with a smile.

"Cowabunga!"

We all looked to the sky in confusion as Michelangelo jumped next to me, hoping on one leg, and took out 5 goons with his Nun-Chucks.

"Michelangelo! You're supposed to be at home resting!" With both started to fight back to back as we carried on a fairly normal conversation concerning why the hell our crippled brother was not at home resting.

"Well you see, I got kind of bored all by myself and then the PlayStation broke and then we were out of food so I figured I would join you guys after I used my Shell Cell to hear where you guys were and stuff so here I am!" He tried to balance on one foot while smacking the perpetrators with his blunt weapons. I hate to say it but, he was doing a pretty good job. "Duck!" He called out. I bent down to the ground and he swung his good foot over my head and kicked a Dragon right in the neck. "Where's everyone else?"

"Over there!" I pointed to Raph, Leo and Casey who were all pinned to the ground. "And there's Karai." I used my head to gesture to the two of them who were still locked in battle together. I had to admit, Karai was really good just as long as she kept out of the Shredder's sight.

"Let's get everyone free!"

"No kidding!" By the time we broke free of the enemy circle, we had taken out about 10 of them. We couldn't get close enough to the others without the hoard jumping in and stopping us.

"We have to split up. Mikey, you free the others while I keep these creeps distracted." We went over to Leo first who looked to be in terrible condition. Mikey kicked the three people out of the way who were pinning him and tried to pull Raphael's Sai's out of the ground.

"Why are Raph's weapons on Leo?!" I asked while defending him from the hoard.

"I don't know but there in there pretty good!" He pulled as hard as he could and eventually one of them came free and flung over Mikey's head and into a Dragon. "Sweet!"

"Focus! Get the other one free."

Leo pushed him away and pulled the other Sai out on his own just in time to stop Mike from being impaled by a Foot's sword.

"Nice to see you're up and around." Leo slowly stood off the ground and pulled out his Katana's from behind his back. "I'll get the others free you two go help Karai, I can handle these goons." We nodded and ran off towards the battle of the century to try and even the odds.

"Karai! The 'you know what'!" I yelled while taking a punch to the chest. "Ok, I didn't see that coming."

"Donatello, you have to run and get out of range! Take the others with you!" She cried while the Shredder took her off his shoulders and slammed her hard against the ground. "Hurry!" She yelled while dodging a punch.

"You heard her!" I pulled Mikey away and told him to help Casey while I went to help Leo free Raphael.

"I'm sorry." Raph said to Leo as he helped him off the ground.

"We'll worry about that later ok?" They smiled at each other.

"I hate to break up the moment here." I jumped over them and used my staff to wing away the Foot who had been advancing on them. "But Karai is going to deploy the bomb and we gotta get outta here!"

"No, it's not safe!" Leo protested.

"I know but we have to trust her!" I made sure Casey and Mikey were ok and I watched as they jumped off the edge of the roof to safety. "Come on!" I pulled them to the edge and allowed them to jump down the fire escape first.

"Karai! Plant it and move!" I called to her as she pulled the silver device from her back pocket and raised it into the air.

"What!" Shredder grabbed her arms and tried to wrestle the bomb from her but she held on and refused to let go. "Fool! You have no idea what you're doing!" He yelled.

"Yes…I do!" With the little room she had, she threw the device and its magnetic components worked perfectly. It clung to the Shredder's chest and began to beep loudly.

"Karai run!" Leo called form behind me.

"No!" Shredder started to flail in different directions as he tried desperately to pull it off, giving Karai enough time to get up and escape. Right when she got to the edge, the bomb went off.

"What?!" I was awe struck as nothing but a flash of light and a small explosion emerged from the device. It certainly got his Ninja off guard though. It looked like they all had just peed their pants. "WHAT?!"

Shredder stood up straight and chuckled sinisterly as he removed the remaining bits of the device from his body. "You really think I would have had Stockman create a powerful bomb? You mutants are dumber than I could have ever imagined!"

"But…I reprogrammed it! It was fully functional!" I couldn't believe it. I should have known better than to have trusted Stockman.

"I knew Erasmus was coming after me so I had Baxter Stockman remove the explosives from the device and make it ineffective. I knew you would come for it you stupid insects! Now I have the advantage and none of you will leave here alive!" He raised his fists into the air and chuckled as his team began to jump off the roof and into the alley where the others had fled.

"Donatello I…I had no idea this would happen." Karai looked solemnly sorry.

"It's alright, none of us did but right now, we've got to devise a new plan before we all get kicked straight into hell."


	20. Chapter 20

: Chapter 20: **(Leo's POV)**

"Hey guys what's…"

We ran into April and Splinter on the street as we we're running for our lives away from the hoard of Ninja and Dragons behind us.

"No time to explain, come on!" I grabbed ahold of April's hand and pulled her along with us. Raphael had the injured Michelangelo on his shoulders in a fireman's carry since his broken leg wouldn't allow him to run at our speed. Even with all of us going as fast as we could, our enemies were quickly gaining on us by the second.

"So what is this?! Super Mario Carts Turtle version?!" Raph yelled while dodging a throwing star that was chucked towards his legs. "We can't just run in circles all day!"

"I'm aware of that Raphael!" I know everyone was in a mood and ready to hear a plan but I needed time to think of one. As we made the first left turn we could find, there was a welcoming party waiting for us on the other side.

"Oh God, not _this_ buffalo." Mikey sighed as we all skidded to a stop with our jaws dropped. We were trapped. On one side we had Shredder and friends and on the other we had Hun and Company. "Now would be a good time for a plan."

"I'm working on it!" I couldn't think under all this stress. I guess we would have to fight it out until my brain decided to kick in. "Stall them if you can, I'll think of something!"

"Sounds good to me!" Raph carefully put down the little lime-green turtle and pulled out his Sais.

"Can you believe that bomb didn't work?" Hun chuckled and then growled at his minions until they laughed along with him. "Isn't that strange Stockman?" Hun slowly step to the side and revealed what looked like a small spider creature with Stockman's head inside it. "This is what happens to people who betray the Foot, keep that in mind while I'm skinny the both of you alive."

"Poor Stockman, he just can't seem to get ahead." Mikey chuckled.

"Oh you're so funny Michelangelo." The spider creature "tskd"

"That's it!" I grabbed ahold of Donatello's arm and whispered something to him. He looked at me bewildered and then nodded his head.

"It could work, but I'll need some time." He took a firm hold of his duffel bag and took off down a nearby alley. As soon as he left, Hun's goons started to run after him but were only stopped in the process.

"Let him go, he's not the one we need." Hun lifted one of his bulky, log shaped fingers and pointed it at Karai and me. "You…" He grinned.

"Who me?" Casey pointed to himself and pretended to be flattered.

"You think you're safe in numbers don't you? You're just a 7 pack of untrained, unarmed mutts against the entire Foot and Dragon Corporation!" Just as he raised his arms in the air, the rest of the enemies behind us caught up and confiscated us to the current street we were on. We couldn't go forward and now we couldn't go backward either.

"Don't worry Erasmus, I'll make your last minutes nice and slow and extremely painful! Same goes for your lady friend, Karai."

"I'm not the one you should be worried about Hun. You may outnumber us a million to 1, but we have more skill than your pack of asses will ever have." I pulled out my katana's which signaled my group to prepare for battle. As hard as I tried to focus on the current situation, I couldn't seem to take my mind of Donatello. His return will be the ultimate deciding factor to if we all walk out of this alive, or decapitated.

"Attack!" Hun called out to both his teams.

"Defend yourselves!" I told mine. I wasn't ready to go on the offensive just yet. I needed time for my newly thought up plan to take effect.

**::** **(Don's POV)**

Ever try to get somewhere so quickly that it causes your heart to pound and your own two legs to stumble out from underneath you? That's kind of what is happening to me right now as I'm running through the sewers at full speed trying to reach the lair. We weren't planning on the miniature H-Bomb malfunctioning so we ended up leaving all the fancy weapons we stole back home instead of taking them with us. Probably wasn't the brightest thing to do that but that's what happens when your too confident with your plan. Thankfully, we had someone to come up with a plan so we could get back into shape and actually win this thing against the Shredder. Leo wanted me to grab two things, Raphael's bow that he seemed to be pretty handy with and the tranquilizer serum I very sloppily threw together at the last minute, except this time, he wanted me to make it explosive.

How in Einstein's name does he expect me to make _tranquilizer_ explosive?! It's not like I can just take some gunpowder and a tranq, mix them together and say "Boom done!" It wasn't that simple! You have to think about what properties each of the mixtures have that will or will not cause them to alter a reaction and ultimately explode…or not!

All of that time given to being a leader instead of being a scientist has really affected my thinking process but I think have an idea. I made it to the lair with time to spare and pushed the door open as hard as I could. I practically flew over to my lab table and slammed my duffel bag on the table and started to carefully examine the outside of it.

"Please please please!" I was looking for one thing, just one tiny, silver…AHA! I pulled a pair of tweezers out of my drawer and plucked a tiny, metallic fragment from out of the fabric of my bag. It was a fragment of the H-Bomb that got shot away from the main piece during that sad excuse of an explosion. Good thing I was standing close enough to pick this up because this was the only idea I had that would be able to save my brothers and friends in time. I ran some tests on the bomb earlier before we left to meet the Shredder. Turns out, the actual structure of the object was what was explosive, not what was inside. When Stockman altered the bomb to make it ineffective, he merely altered the time device inside so that when it went off, the device _imploded_ instead of exploding. He must have had some kind of cooling agent inside too so that the inferno wasn't harmful to anyone around it but that was besides my main purpose here.

This little shard is still active and can still be triggered to explode if mixed with the right ingredients. My tranquilizer will do the trick and now all I need is something that will trigger the reaction. I rubbed my temples as I tried to think of something that could work. I couldn't use a button for time saving purposes, so what in the world was I going to use?! I leaned my head against my fist as I twisted the tweezers around in my hand.

"You're a little piece of metallic crap you know that?" I said to the object. "Wait…metallic….GREAT SCOTT!" I slammed the tweezers on the table and pulled out my vile of aluminum mixture that I used to make the original device magnetic. "Shredder's metal platted armor can trigger the reaction just like it did last time! Why am I talking to myself?"

**::** **(Erasmus's POV)**

"Die!" Hun smashed his fists onto the ground where I had been standing but I jumped up in time to miss the blow. I landed on top of his hands and kicked me legs into his neck.

"I thought we were only doin defensive?!" Casey yelled while clocking three Foot ninja's right in the head with his hockey stick.

"That was a counter. Who's your Sensei Casey?" I asked in a mocking manner.

"Watch it, you Splinter reject." He smirked at me while jumping back to back with Raphael.

"At least he's not a family member reject!" Mikey chuckled but ended up getting his feet swept out from underneath him from not paying attention. "Ow! My precious legs!'

"They're legs but they sure as Hell aint precious." Raph was knocking out the goons one by one while barely getting touched in the process. As long as someone had his back, he was like a windup toy. He could keep going until he had to be wound up again which usually was caused by getting beat up by the other side.

"How you doing April?" I blocked a sword attack while looking around the street for April. I thought she would have been next to someone for protection but she was out on her own, kicking butt.

"Never better Leo!"

She used mostly her legs to knock back the enemies but eventually she was going to get cornered and be rendered helpless.

"Splinter?!"

"I'm alright my son. Help your brothers!" Splinter jumped into the air and kicked his legs out in a perfect formation that knocked 5 enemies flat on their backs.

"Guys, to me!" I jumped away from my current fight and went to a safe distance. Eventually, once they could, everyone joined me. "How are we doing?" I asked, out of breath.

"We're getting our shells kicked. Even though we're droppin them like flies they just keep comin." Raph admitted.

"Where is Donatello?" Karai asked while blocking an attack.

"I sent him on an errand. We can't leave this spot until he comes back or he won't find us." I said.

"Anyone notice that bucket head isn't here either?" Mikey said with a hard voice. I had completely forgotten about the Shredder actually. I've been too focused on Donnie to even care about him even though he's our main problem.

"Just keep an eye out. I'm sure he's close. Stay together so they can't separate us." I got everyone into a circle with Michelangelo on the inside. If anyone decided to attack from above, he would be put to work. We we're able to hold off in a defensive position for a few minutes but no longer. They were closing in tight and we had to move before they all jumped on and restrained us.

"Leo, this aint workin!" Raph called out before he got swiped in the side of the head with an enemy katana. He fell to the ground with his hand pressed tightly against his face and sent blood dripping down onto the cement.

"Karai take over!" She nodded her head at my request and told the group to go into the offensive. Slowly, the bubble around us began to expand, giving me enough time to tend to Raphael.

"Raph are you alright?" I bent down next to him and cupped my hand around his to help stop the bleeding.

"He got me right in the frickin eye." He swore under his breath and tried to stand up off the ground.

"In the eye?! Let me look." I tried to pull his hand away but he pushed me back. "Raph!"

"I don't need yah help!"

"Did they get you in your good eye?!" I asked.

"Why does it matter!"

A couple of Dragons came up behind Raph with led pipes raised high in the air.

"6 o'clock!" I called out to my brother hoping he would get the message. He swung his left leg around and kicked the two of them right in the chest flawlessly as if both eyes were still working. You could sever that turtle in half and he would still be able to perform 100%.

"Yah…" He mumbled.

"Yah what?" I asked him.

"They got me in my good eye but I can still fight."

"Raph, I need you to be able to shoot." I placed my arms on his shoulders.

"Shoot? What a gun?"

"No, that bow you liked so much. Don went to prepare a serum that will knock the Shredder dead but I need you to be able to take the shot that'll do it."

"I thought you were good with those things…" He winced from the pain in his eye.

"I think you might be better than I am." I just finished receiving a smile from Raph as a powerful blow came from behind me and knocked us into each other.

"Leo!" I heard Karai's voice.

"Call all you want but you cannot change your already decided fate!" The voice was familiar. Shredder was back, nice of him to stop by. Now only if Donatello would move his ass and get over here!

"Hang on buddy!" I saw Casey's legs come running up to the Shredder and then the sound of metal on bone made Raph and I wince. Casey's body went flying back into a couple of Dragons and then lay unnaturally still, never to stir again the rest of the battle.

"Casey!" Raph pushed my body off his and then tried to run over to help the injured human but the Shredder grabbed ahold of his legs and swung him almost a hundred feet in the other direction.

"Pathetic." Shredder sounded disappointed. "I was hoping for something more from your mutant family Erasmus."

"My name…is Leonardo!" I jumped up off the ground with my katana stiff behind my back and landed behind him. Now Karai ran to my side and prepared to fight with me. When Mike tried to jump him I told him to go help Raphael instead. And yes, it was because his crippled leg was going to get in the way.

"This is how it should have been in the first place, just us. Now let's see if I've taught you enough all these years!"

Karai and I leapt into action together and tried our best to dodge most of our Sensei's attacks. Anytime we would get close enough to strike him, his armor would deflect our swords and give him enough time to knock us back. We kept trying though, even after our bodies were ready to give in.

"Raph, get everyone to safety! Get out of here!" I called to him without taking my eyes off the enemy.

"Leonardo…" I could hear the worry in my sister's voice.

"I'm sorry Karai."

We were both thrown against an alley wall at the same time and pinned to it by the Shredder's gauntlets. I couldn't see the others since the Shredder's body was blocking my view but I could only hope that they got away so he wouldn't go after them after he killed us.

"Should I murder you two now? Or do to you what I've done to Stockman for so many years?" He laughed malevolently and raised his spike gauntlet into the air.

"How about none of the above?!" Raphael called out.

"What?!" Shredder whipped around just as something went flying out of Raph's hands with a whistling sound and landed right into his chest plate. He turned on an angle so Karai and I could see that he had been struck by an arrow. "Haha! Fools! Your pathetic ninja weapons cannot defeat me!"

"Not ninja, scientific!" Don grinned.

"Huh?!" Suddenly, a large beeping sound emerged from the arrow and then the entire thing went ablaze.

"Take cover!" Don called out to us. I rolled over top of Karai and tucked my head in as the entire street was illuminated with a bright light and fire. Car's security horns went off, glass windows broke and fell to the ground and people started to turn on their lights as the sound had most likely awakened them.

"Master!" I watched as Hun crawled across the ground, his face black with soot and parts of his flesh were covered with burns. But he was calling out to an empty shell for there was nothing left of the Shredder except a pair of destroyed metal boots. It was finally over.

"Did we win?" Michelangelo coughed the smoke out of his lungs and waved more of it away from his face.

"Do not be so quick to make assumptions Michelangelo." Splinter slowly got up off the ground and used his walking stick for elevation.

"Yah…I think we did." Raph still had his hand tight against his left eye.

"There's no way it's over already!" Don said while helping his brothers up off the ground.

"That's cuz you were GONE HALF THE TIME!" Mikey shrieked.

After I helped Karai up, we walked over to the others and regrouped.

"Everyone alright?" I asked them. They all nodded except Casey he was still knocked out. "Good…let's go home."

"Hey! You will pay for this!" Hun tried desperately to crawl across the ground but it looked like his lower half was completely useless to him.

"What about the little puppy?" April scowled.

"Let him go, he's useless without his Master now that he's dead." Karai spat in Hun's direction.

"You will be sorry for this! I will hunt you to the ends of the earth! I'll haunt your dreams and kill you in your sleep!" He screamed will pushing a charred body out of the way.

"Whatever Hun. Make sure you take Stockman with you then." I waved him away and led my team to the nearest manhole.

"Wait what?!" Hun shrieked as a little spider creature crawled dizzily over to him. "And where were you?!"

"That is none of your concern you oversized potato!" Stockman growled. "The mutants are getting away!"

"Then do something!"

"I'm useless in this body!"

"Well I aint functioning either!"

"That's it come here!" The robot spider jumped on top of Hun and started to bounce up and down with excessive force.

"I think they'll get along just fine." Mikey grinned.

**Prologue:**

Casey came to it shortly after we arrived back at the lair. Michelangelo had tried to get him to believe that we were abducted by space aliens and freak him out but April saw to it that that long-haired human was well cared for. Mikey's leg would heal in a matter of weeks and he would be back to his old self again….yippee. Raphael's left eye had been lost to infection despite Donatello's efforts to heal it. So instead, Don stitched it up and even stitched Raph's left mask eye to make it a little less noticeable too. Casey and Mikey refusedto _not _make fun of him but I suppose that's what friends and brothers do to each other. Speaking of brothers, Donatello, after a few months of bonding and such, described to me what "_love love"_ felt like. I had never understood or even considered toying with such an emotion but it appeared the brainiac of the family was was a bit more then what met the eye. He described his emotions towards April O'Neil and how those feelings he had washed away once he decided he could trust me all those months ago. He said that the loneliness in his heart with what he thought was calling out for love, was actually calling out for my brotherly companionship since the other two mostly stuck to their own devices. So I became closer with Donatello than I would have been with the other two and honestly, it was fine by me.

Besides those few major injuries, the rest of us had the usual cuts and bruises but they would heal easily along with the mark in our hearts that the Shredder had left on us, especially Karai and I. Splinter had invited the two of us to stay and ultimately, after some bribery, we accepted. Eventually however, Karai would go off on her own and rarely be seen except when she needed someone to talk to and keep her out of trouble. She and I became closer than ever as we still tried to fight off the last traces of Foot blood we had left in us. It was a long and difficult road but it would be done at an extraordinary rate withSplinter's help.

I always thought that the path of destruction would be the ultimate source of satisfaction, that I wouldn't know any other way of life except through other people's misery and loss. The mistakes I made in the last 13 years will haunt me for the rest of my life and wake me up countless amounts of time in my sleep. You can't undo what is already done and the lives I've taken in those years are what cause me the most amounts of grief and unrest. If it weren't for my brothers, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello, I probably wouldn't be here today. I would be dead due to the highly risky mission that our previous Sensei had sent us on in the past. Yet eventually, I would feel the whole-hearted welcome that they so graciously are holding out for me, that 100% certainty that they know I've changed and want to continue my journey to become a better person and grow up into the leader I was meant to be. I am the person I choose to be and I, Erasmus, choose to be the one that my mind and heart want me to be.

**Thank you guys so much for your continued support through this story. You guys commented like crazy and it was so awesome to see how much you loved it and wanted more! Honestly, if no one liked it I was going to quite the whole thing but I'm glad I stuck to it and yeah. I don't know if you guys knew but this story is being translated into Russian by "Kifanya" on a different website. If you would like to check it out, PM me and I'll send you the link. Also, I understand that Donatello's emotions towards April were complicated but I made it that way so I could cause a little romance drama but I failed miserably so sorry about that lol AT LEAST I TRIED! lol. :D Now here's the complicated part. I NEED IDEAS FOR FUTURE FANFICS! I sat in my room, at my desk, for almost an hour trying to come up with this idea and I'm just…no. Ideas will come to me but it appears to take a while and I don't want to wait 8 years to come up with a bright idea. I know there are lots of different styles perhaps you would like to see from me so PLEASE PM me or comment your thoughts. I'll still try to come up with good plots but your advice really helps! Thanks again for visiting **_**I, Erasmus**_** and I hope to see you in another Fic!**


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